So this is New York City
by anothersmallperson
Summary: The composer and the choreographer finally hit the big apple.  However, the course of true love never did run smooth... Sequel to 'So I've Fallen in Love'
1. Chapter 1

**Haaaalelujaaah I am finally posting the sequel to 'So I've Fallen in Love'. I'm very sorry but my updates will not be regular. I am insanely busy right now but I hope you guys will be patient and the read will be worth the wait. **

**To be honest, you're probably best to have read 'So I've Fallen in Love' before reading this. But if not, don't sweat it. This chapter relates quite a bit to the last chapter of 'So I've Fallen in Love' so you might need to read that one but otherwise I don't think anything will confuse you. **

**So, first chapter. Hope you enjoy. Here we go!**

_**Kelsi**_

"Wow someone looks tired."

Kelsi looked up from her toast to glare at her brother. However, it was a bit of a half hearted attempt seeing as she could only just open her eyes.

"I _told_ you to get an early night." Kelsi's mom said sternly as she rushed into the kitchen. She was holding a pile of clothes under her arm, a plate of toast in one hand and, bizarrely, a bag of small padlocks in the other.

"I went to bed at ten o'clock mom." Kelsi mumbled as her mother dumped the plate of toast in front of Thomas and moved over to the iron board.

"I just couldn't sleep for nerves." Kelsi added to Thomas. Thomas shrugged non-chalantly.

"That's weird… I couldn't sleep either. But that was because I heard your window open and close around 1am… and then again around 5am…"

Kelsi coughed loudly as she accidentally choked on her toast and looked at her mother in alarm. Thankfully, she was feverishly ironing the large pile of clothes beside her and seemed oblivious to absolutely everything else. Fixing her features into what she hoped looked like a disinterested expression, Kelsi looked up at her brother.

"What are the padlocks for?" she muttered.

"Mom's taking every possible precaution to make sure you're not attacked, mugged, used, abused, sat on, stepped on, puked on etc in New York." Thomas smirked.

"You don't know these people you're staying with." Kelsi's mom snapped, not taking her eyes off the ironing for a second. You need to keep your valuables safe!"

Kelsi looked at her brother exasperatedly.

"You didn't get it this bad when you left did you?" she asked.

Thomas rolled his eyes.

"You think this is bad? I had to dissuade mom from calling up the university to run background checks on my room mates." Thomas muttered. Kelsi giggled just as her father entered the room.

"What's the joke?" he asked as he sat down at the table. Thomas and Kelsi jerked their heads at their mother who now had the clothes in her arms and was marching in their direction.

"Peter, this is a disaster!" a voice stressed from behind the clothes. "I still have two more piles to do. We haven't had breakfast. I still need to stop by the pharmacy and get all the medicines and toiletries Kelsi's going to need. And I just realised this morning that the car's low on petrol so I need to go to the gas station. Neither of us have had breakfast, I need to finish Kelsi's packing…"

"And there's no jam left." Thomas added casually, peering inside the empty jam jar on the table.

"And there's no jam left!" Jennifer Neilson screeched. She then turned to swiftly leave the room, and the pile of clothes, catching the side of the table, fell from her arms. There was a small silence as everyone anticipated the reaction.

"I… just ironed those." Kelsi's mom growled, dipping down to gather them up.

"Mom… you don't need to do everything…"

"YOU need all the time you can get…"

"Jenny." Peter said sharply and she looked up at him from the floor, her eyes flashing. He ignored this and crouched down to her level.

"Sit down. I'll make us breakfast. Without jam." he said softly.

"But what about…"

"Thomas can drive. Once he's finished his toast, which at the speed he eats shouldn't be long, he can go to the pharmacy and get gas on the way. I'm sure Kelsi is perfectly capable of packing her own suitcases and when have either of the kids ever cared about ironing?" Kelsi's dad grinned. After a few seconds his wife seemed to give in and grinned also. She straightened up and dumped the clothes on the ironing board

"Thomas, come here and I'll give you a list of what we need. Kelsi, the rest of the clothes are in the living room. Peter, I'll have toast with cream cheese please." she gave her husband a small kiss and a smile.

"Now!" she barked and Thomas and Kelsi leapt from the table. As she sprinted up the stairs towards her bedroom Kelsi tried to make her mind focus on the fact that she was leaving to go and LIVE in New York in the next few hours. A place she had never even visited. But all she could think about was the night before. In a few hours she would be in a crowded airport, looking at the guy who was responsible for the bags under her eyes, the butterflies in her stomach and the smile on her lips. The guys who also happened to be her boyfriend. The guy that had told her he loved her last night.

_**Ryan**_

Ryan took a brief look around the cavernous hallway of his home .It had never looked so busy and stress seemed to hang everywhere in the air. His father was striding back and forth from his study to the hallway, bringing out what looked like another form or document that Ryan needed. In addition he had a cell phone held to his ear by the crook of his neck. His mother was frantically making a packed lunch for him, something Ryan had never seen her do. Sharpay was nowhere to be seen and Ryan was checking off a list with their butler, James.

"So I was thinking I could pack the rest of the clothes I have clean if you could quickly iron the ones that have just come out the drier. And after that we can start on my toiletries. I have NO idea where my guitar case is so while I'm looking for that you could…"

"Ryan!" James burst out exasperatedly. Ryan started a little. James was usually very calm and collected. But then again, Ryan wasn't usually this demanding. Stress, however had taken its toll.

"Sorry James." Ryan sighed. "I'm just freaking out here…"

"No it's not that." James said, shaking his head. "I have a very impatient Miss Evans sitting in the dining room, deman… Imean _asking_ for her breakfast. She's been at it for the last half hour."

"Did you tell her to get her own breakfast?" Ryan frowned.

"I… suggested it."

"And…"

"She refused."

Ryan gave James a quizzical look. Sharpay could be demanding when she wanted but she usually treated James with the upmost respect. She also didn't seem to be lifting one of her manicured fingers to help.

"She seems in an odd mood this morning." James said quietly.

"I don't have time for this." Ryan growled. Of all the mornings Sharpay had chosen to be difficult, it was today. He strolled into the dining room to find Sharpay was sat with her back to him.

"If you want your breakfast that bad Shar, make it yourself like the rest of us did an hour ago. Then maybe you'll have the energy to get off your ass and lend a hand!" Ryan snapped before stomping out. Sharpay just sat where she was. When he re-entered the hallway he found that James had vanished. Assuming he was off to start his list, Ryan made his way upstairs to resume packing. He was so sure he's packed everything last night. But things just kept cropping up! Though honestly he's been thinking more about he and Kelsi's last night in Albequrque, rather than preparing for the journey ahead. Ryan felt his tense shoulders relax at the thought of his girlfriend. The fact he was going to New York today hadn't really sunk in yet. But what had sunk in was that he was going away with Kelsi. Just the two of them. The days of Kelsi's long work hours were over. As were curfews, boundaries, parents and anything else that stood in their way. Ryan smiled as he remembered how they had parted when he had dropped her off back home the night before.

"_I'll miss you."_

"_We have to be at the airport in about five hours, I'm sure you won't miss me." Kelsi giggled, though she looked unwilling to leave his arms. _

"_I honestly will." Ryan grinned, hugging her tighter. _

"_Well as much as I don't want you to leave, I don't think my parents could cope with waving me off to New York and finding you in my bed in the same morning." Kelsi laughed. Ryan laughed with her. Her smile was so contagious. Looking down at her… she looked so HAPPY. It radiated from her whole body. And the funny thing was, Ryan felt it in himself too. It was as if they were inside their own bubble of happiness and contentment and nothing could penetrate it. However, the cold air was managing to reach them and Kelsi began to shiver in his arms._

"_Ok, you're freezing. Go to bed." Ryan smiled, reluctantly loosening his grip on her. _

"_It's n-n-not that c-c-cold." Kelsi stammered, her teeth chattering. _

"_Right." Ryan laughed. "C'mon. I'll already feel guilty when I see how tired you are tomorrow. So if you have hyperthermia too then I'll feel REALLY bad." Ryan joked. Eventually Kelsi gave in and went onto her tiptoes to kiss him. As their lips met Ryan relished in the joy it brought him. The knowledge that this extraordinary girl was in love with him made each kiss all the more meaningful. _

"_I love you." she whispered as they broke apart._

"_I love you too." _

He had been half joking when he had said he'd miss her. But he actually did! Truth be told he was holding back from calling her, even though they'd both be at the airport in just over an hour.

"We leave in twenty minutes. Mom wanted me to tell you."

Ryan spun round and just caught Sharpay backing out of his room. He quickly marched the length of the room and grabbed her wrist.

"What is your problem today!" he spat, pulling her back into his room.

"Do you mind!" Sharpay snapped, snatching her arm back. Her tone was venomous but she didn't meet Ryan's eye.

"Shar look at me."

Sharpay met his gaze, her brown eyes stubborn… and Ryan understood.

"I'm… really going to miss you." he said sincerely. As soon as he started to speak Sharpay's lip began to quiver and her eyes became glassy.

"Don't." she said quickly, her voice breaking slightly.

"I'm sorry I've been… well this morning I've been so.. And I haven't helped…"

Ryan saw his twin's eyes begin to fill with tears and he quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's ok sis." he said softly. "I know what you're like."

A small muffled laugh came from his sister and he smiled. He should have known this was what her behaviour had been about.

"This is hard for both of us but I REALLY need you to help sis. Why don't you tell me where I should shop in New York while we pack?" he suggested. Sharpay stepped out of the hug and wiped her eyes, strategically so she wouldn't mess up her make up. She then looked up at him and smiled.

"Well Sharpay Evans' little brother needs to be well dressed in New York at all times." she said, suddenly business like. She then marched briskly over to his open trunk and tutted.

"You'd think we'd been on enough holidays for you to be able to PACK properly Ryan!"

"What on earth am I going to do without you?" Ryan laughed, joining his sister to observe how a suitcase ought to be packed.


	2. Author's Note

Hi!

This is so surreal… I don't even want to think about how long it's been since I updated. Definitely a number of years though! Basically I fell in love then started my training at a performing arts college. Waved goodbye to my free time! And frankly, I didn't have any inspiration. I thought I was done with writing to be honest. But I thought I'd have a look through some of the stories for fun recently and I just got hooked again!

So it is with DELIGHT that I declare I am BACK! 'So I've Fallen In Love' is complete, but I'll be updating 'So this Is New York' and hopefully 'Senseless' too. I don't know how many of the people that read and reviewed my stories before are still active on this site, but I have to say, reading the reviews I have for 'So I've Fallen In Love' again has given me so much inspiration. You are so so kind and your comments and support make me want to keep writing for fun, sharing with you and reading your own stories.

Lots and lots and lots of love!  
xxxxx


	3. Chapter 2

**Kelsi**

"Kelsi…"  
"Yes Thomas." Kelsi muttered, not really paying attention. She was too busy craning her neck in an attempt to search the crowded terminal from her small height. The airport was heaving with people as usual and the Neilsons had arranged to meet the Evans family to see Ryan and Kelsi through the gate. However, it had been fifteen minutes since they had arranged to meet and there was still no sign of the newsboy cap that Kelsi expected to see bobbing towards them.  
"Ryan wears a newsboy cap right…"  
Kelsi's head snapped round to look at her brother.  
"Yes! Do you see it?!"  
"Maybe… he's got blonde hair yeah?"  
"Yes."  
"Blonde sister too?"  
"YES! Where…"  
"Kidding." Thomas smirked. Kelsi looked at her brother with a face of thunder.  
"I'm really not going to miss you." She growled. Luckily, her rage was cut short by a pair of arms wrapping themselves round her waist.  
"Morning." Said a low voice in her ear. Kelsi instantly grinned and spun round to hug her boyfriend. She laughed as she took in his appearance. Only Ryan could look flawless after one hour's sleep and a multitude of stress.  
"Sleep well?" he asked, a mischevious twinkle in his eye.  
"Not too bad… There was a strange draft though. Had to keep opening and closing my window." She said loudly, just in case her parents had caught her brother's earlier comment. However, they seemed absolutely oblivious as they greeted Ryan's family. The whole family had turned up to the airport, even James the butler. He caught Kelsi's eye and gave her a warm smile. She smiled back, remembering their first meeting and the kindness he had shown her.  
"Well I suppose it's time for some cheesy goodbyes." Kelsi's mother smiled, though Kelsi detected some tears in the woman's eyes. In fact, she could feel the moisture building up in her own!  
"You're not going to start the cheesy goodbyes without us are you?!"  
Kelsi whipped her head round but not quite in time. Before she knew it she had been lifted off the ground and the world was spinning.  
"Chad!" she laughed, knowing the culprit straight away. When he finally let her down she took an unsteady look around. Taylor, putting a hand on Chad's shoulder. Jason high-fiving Ryan. Zeke putting an arm round Sharpay and Martha skipping over to Kelsi's side.  
"You WILL Skype me." Martha growled, pulling Kelsi into a tight hug. Kelsi hung onto her fondly. Besides Ryan, Martha was the person she told everything to. It would be strange not having her around.  
"You'll be telling me to leave you alone after one week." Kelsi giggled, kissing her best friend on the cheek. When Martha pulled away she was swiftly handed a tissue by Jason who then took her hand reassuringly.  
"Look after her." Kelsi said jokingly, whilst putting her hand up for a high-five, which was Jason's preferred gesture of affection.  
"Ha! She'll be looking after me!" Jason chuckled, slapping her hand. "Have an amazing time." he added with a smile.  
Next Taylor was holding her tight.  
"Call me whenever you want." Taylor said kindly. "Though maybe not when you want love advice." she joked with a grin.  
"Go get em small person." Chad grinned as he ruffled her hair. "And… you know… be careful and stuff." he said seriously.  
"Chad she's not made of glass!" Taylor laughed. "You'll be just fine. you've got Ryan" Taylor smiled, looking over at where Ryan was doing some sort of partner dance with Martha, both of them laughing their heads off.  
"Kelsi… It's almost time."  
Kelsi turned to see both her parents looking at her, their faces a mixture of encouragement, pride… and sadness.  
"Mom, Dad… I'll miss you." She sniffed, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She hadn't even worried about leaving her parents until now, but as they held her in their arms she was so conscious of the love that radiated between them that it made her crave their support. She couldn't forever though, and after giving them each a tender kiss she stepped out of their embrace. She looked over to Ryan. He was standing with his sister. They weren't hugging or crying, but clasping hands and looking at each other with a look of such understanding that it seemed as if words were not necessary. Kelsi didn't question this. Ryan and Sharpay had such a special bond. The same could not be said of her and Thomas. It was time for their inevitably awkward goodbye and Kelsi went over to him. However, Ryan was there before her!  
"Just a moment." Ryan said kindly. "I think Sharpay wants to say something."  
Kelsi nodded and walked away, catching a bewildered look from Thomas as she did.  
Sharpay was standing next to her parents, looking more sombre than Kelsi had ever seen her despite the bubblegum pink dress she was sporting.  
"Kelsi." Sharpay said sincerely. "If… if Ryan was leaving with anyone but you… I'd be… Well I'd be really worried."  
Kelsi nodded. Realising how much it had taken for her to say even that. It was as if Sharpay was handing Ryan over to her, though neither of them acknowledged it.  
"I'll miss you." Kelsi said, throwing her arms round her unlikely ally. Sharpay seemed to freeze in surprise, then hugged her back. As they broke apart Kelsi turned to Ryan. Their eyes met. It was nearly time.

**Ryan**

Ryan took a deep breath as he looked into the intimidating glower of Thomas Neilson's eyes. Who knew that such a meek girl would have such a fierce brother! But this had to be said… Awkward as it was.  
"I messed up once. I don't plan on doing it again." Ryan said sincerely, looking intently into Thomas' eyes. They were the same blue as Kelsi's. There was a short pause as Thomas considered Ryan. Ryan did not look away from the other boy's intimidating stare.  
"Good." Thomas said softly, offering Ryan his hand. Ryan shook it gratefully then stood aside to allow Kelsi to say a farewell to her older brother. She went forward slightly awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to say. Then, out of nowhere, Thomas grinned widely.  
"See ya Kessy… Don't do anything I wouldn't do yeah?' He said brightly. Kelsi immediately giggled and gave her brother a short hug. As she pulled away from him, Ryan met Kelsi's eyes. They were full of apprehension and excitement. This was it. Their families and friends shouted wishes of good luck. Sharpay finally let a few tears fall. Neither of them noticed. Hands clasped, they walked through the gate, and into their new life.

***

"Kelsi! Look! We're almost…" Ryan stopped short as he looked at the empty seat next to him. He gave a small sigh and leaned back in his seat, taking in the view out the plane window. Through the wispy groups of clouds the tall buildings of New York City were starting to emerge. Ryan felt a rush of excitement as he looked down at the city that would be home for the next four years. The plane was lower now. So low that he could see the trademark yellow cabs and even the New York residents themselves. He could almost feel the hub of the city that never sleeps.  
"I wanna wake up, in the city that doesn't sleep…" Ryan sang softly to himself. He heard a small giggle to his right. He turned quickly but it wasn't his girlfriend who smiled back at him, but one of the air hostesses.  
"Sorry." Ryan said, embarrassed. "You must hear that all the time."  
"Mostly just the theatre students." She replied good-naturedly. Her face then turned concerned. "Speaking of which. How's your friend?" she asked, glancing at the toilet door.  
"Still not great." Ryan sighed. Kelsi had told him she had never flown before but she hadn't been nervous or the scared of the idea at all. What they hadn't foreseen was that flying apparently made Kelsi very VERY sick. The poor girl had spent most of the flight in the bathroom.  
"Well give her this when she gets back." The hostess said kindly, placing a cup of water on the tray in front of Kelsi's empty seat before moving onto the next passenger.  
Just then, Ryan heard the bathroom door opening. He craned his neck to look down the aisle and, sure enough, there was Kelsi walking carefully back to her seat. Her face was very pale and seemed to have a sheen of sweat over her face. She sat down and immediately buried her face in Ryan's shoulder.  
"Uuuuugh."  
"Not feeling any better?" Ryan asked, anxiously rubbing her shoulders. She simply shook her head in reply.  
"Don't suppose you want to see a bird's eye view of our new home?" Ryan asked slyly. Sure enough Kelsi took the bait and lifted her head to look out the window. Her eyes lit up as she took in the New York skyline. Ryan repressed a sigh of relief, glad that she was enjoying at least some of the journey.  
"The hostess left you some water." Ryan said, gesturing to the cup. Kelsi tore her eyes away from the window and grinned.  
"She is sooo nice." She said happily before sipping her water.  
'Hopefully the people at Julliard are just as friendly' Ryan thought wistfully.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! I uploaded this chapter the other day but for some reason a lot of it was a bit jumbled up and didn't make any sense! :( How anyone managed to read it is beyond me... Anyway, hopefully I've fixed it and it should read a bit clearer now! Thanks to musicrules1923 for letting me know!  
**

**Enjoy! Again Ha!  
**

* * *

**Kelsi**

"It's. Well...l"

"Massive?" Ryan said helpfully, squeezing her hand. Kelsi looked up at him. He stood by her side, gazing up at the building that would become their second home for the next four years. He looked nervous, and strangely it comforted her. If Ryan Evans, the bravest person she knew was nervous then they were definitely in the same boat.

They made their way over to the entrance to the dorms and simultaneously dug identical documents out their bags.

"Room 1D." Kelsi read out. "First floor!" she beamed.

"Room 4B. Fourth floor." Ryan said dejectedly, looking at all his bags. "Why did I let Sharpay pack for me?" he said glumly.

"Sorry… did you say 4B?" a voice from behind them said. Kelsi and Ryan spun round to see a slight, olive skinned boy with a mop of tousled black hair and equally dark eyes. Kelsi couldn't quite place his accent… Was it British?

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out how to get my whole life up four floors." Ryan laughed, rolling his eyes. The other boy's face lit up.

"We're room-mates!" he said enthusiastically, thrusting out his hand. "I'm Mitch. Music major. And I know this isn't the best news but… your room mate is a drummer I'm afraid."  
"Ryan. Dance" Ryan replied, shaking the boy's hand. "And, no, that's amazing! I always wanted to learn actually…"  
"You know what…" Mitch cut in, "There's a dancer across the hall that I've already set my sights on so maybe you can teach me a few moves in return for a drum lesson." he said with a wink. "And who's the lovely lady?"  
"Oh sorry, this is my girlfriend Kelsi." Ryan smiled, squeezing Kelsi's hand. "She's a music major too."  
"Composition." Kelsi said timidly. Mitch seemed to have an overwhelming amount of energy and it had somehow made her a bit shy…  
"Nice! You traveled far?" Mitch asked as he started to lift some of their bags.  
"Just from Albuquerque. Don't worry about those." Kelsi said quickly. "I'm only up one floor."  
"I'm not doing anything else." Mitch shrugged. "And you guys look ready to drop. Did you just get off the plane?"  
They both nodded, starting to feel the exhaustion hitting them.  
"I came from New Zealand so I got here last night." Mitch explained as they started to hoist the bags to the elevator.  
"New Zealand!" Ryan and Kelsi exclaimed at the same time, causing Mitch to laugh.  
"Aaaaw you guys are adorable." he laughed. "Ok, you guys head on up, I'll watch the rest of Ryan's bags and follow you."  
"Ok, see you soon!" Ryan called as the elevator doors closed. the second the doors had closed on Mitch's smiling face Kelsi put on a fake scowl.  
"This is so unfair. There is NO WAY my room mate is going to top yours." she huffed.  
"He's awesome." Ryan agreed, his eyes twinkling. "Your floor." he said as the elevator came to a stop. Kelsi shoved her bags into the hall and looked back at Ryan, suddenly scared that she was on her own.  
"Don't give me that look, you'll be fine!" Ryan said encouragingly.  
"Love you!" Kelsi blurted out quickly as the doors started to close.  
"Love you too!"  
Kelsi faced her door. 1D. The dorm she would be spending at least the next year in. She took a slow, deep breath and opened the door.  
"Oh… Sorry!" Kelsi exclaimed at the sight before her. She didn't know what she'd been expecting… but it wasn't this. Two girls stood over the threshold, completely entwined in each other. One was tall, blonde and fully dressed and the other… was not. A little taller than Kelsi, she had long, wild brown hair laced with purple. She stood, her hands in the other girl's back pockets, in just a pair of jeans and a black, lacy bra.  
"I'm… Oh God… I'm so sorry! I must be, I must have the wrong… It's…"  
"Kelsi?" the partially dressed girl checked, interrupting her stuttering. Kelsi's presence didn't seem to bother either girl. In fact, they remained as they were, in a tight embrace, and smirked in her direction. It was then Kelsi noticed that her jaw was hanging open.  
"Yes… Yes I'm Kelsi." she stammered, completely confused by the situation.  
"My room mate from New Mexico!" The brunette cried, disentangling herself from the blonde girl and thrusting her hand out for Kelsi to shake.  
"Oh… you must be Jen." Kelsi said as she received a strong handshake from her new room mate.  
"Sorry about… " Jen said, inclining her head towards the other girl who was putting on her jacket, and looking a bit disgruntled about it.  
"Oh it's ok!" Kelsi protested. "I can come back…"  
"It's fine!" Jen said quickly. "Um… I'll call you." she murmured to the blonde who rolled her eyes and stalked out.  
As the door slammed behind her Jen instantly burst out laughing.  
"You can come back?! You arrive with all your stuff to move in, walk in on your room mate hooking up in your new dorm where YOU now live, and you offer to come back?! What are you, British?!" Jen giggled. Kelsi just stood rooted to the spot, uncomfortably aware that Jen was still half dressed and apparently unconcerned about it.  
"Aaaaaw and you're so SMALL!" Jen grinned, making a show of patting Kelsi on the head.  
"What are you, an inch taller?" Kelsi quipped before she could think. Instantly she clapped hand to her mouth.  
"Oh I'm sorry! That was rude…"  
"Oh man you're so polite it hurts." Jen smirked. "And you're bright red. What's the…" Jen looked down at her chest and giggled again.  
"Oh c'mon Kelsi. If we're going to spend the next year in each other's company then you're going to have to get used to seeing me in my underwear. And don't worry. I prefer blondes." she said with a wink before disappearing into what Kelsi assumed was her bedroom.

***

A few hours later, Kelsi sat in her new bedroom, surrounded by photographs. It had been more than a little depressing trying to settle into a completely bare room, especially since her room mate may as well have not been there. Kelsi hadn't heard a peep from her since their exchange earlier. Now and again some loud rock music could be heard from her room but that was it. As a result, Kelsi had begun sticking her photographs of her friends and family her bedroom wall, along with a few posters she owned, to make the room feel more like a home. It was working to a degree and she even managed a little smile as she found a picture of herself, Jason, Zeke and Martha in the kitchen in Lava Springs. Martha was dancing, Jason and Zeke were both brandishing pots and spoons and evidently using them as percussion instruments and Kelsi had her palms on two plates, pretending to play them like decks. Everyone was laughing in the picture. It was a happy moment at a time where things hadn't really been going all that well. It gave her a little boost of optimism as she placed it among the other photos of her friends. All the girls in their prom dresses. All the boys after winning the championship. Ryan, Sharpay and Boi next to the Evans family pool. Troy and Chad pulling goofy faces. Gabriella and Taylor proudly holding the complete yearbook. Everyone at graduation.  
Kelsi was suddenly smacked into reality as her phone started to ring. She immediately grinned as she saw whose name appeared on the screen.  
"Hi!" Kelsi said enthusiastically, before the phone even had a chance to ring twice.  
"Hey." replied Ryan. "How's the room?"  
"Sort of sad and bare. But I'm putting up my photos." she said cheerfully. She didn't want to sound homesick in front of Ryan. It seemed so childish…  
"Well my sister has called twice since I left you." Ryan chuckled.  
"Twice! My mom hasn't even called yet!" Kelsi laughed in reply.  
"I know tell me about it! It wasn't even anything important… She basically wanted a background check on Mitch and insisted I Skype her. But then Mitch could see her and… well that was…"  
"She was HOT!" Kelsi heard Mitch shout in the background.  
"Awkward?" Kelsi asked, unable to stop herself from giggling.  
"Yeah quite a bit!" Ryan said, "But on the other hand, she's stopped calling. To be honest Kels…" Ryan lowered his voice and she could hear him closing a door, evidently separating himself from Mitch, "I'm kind of glad she called. I mean, it's not even been one night so I don't miss anyone. Well, not yet anyway… But it's been kind of over-whelming. It was nice to have some normality." Ryan admitted. Kelsi nodded, forgetting for a second that he couldn't see her, touched by his honesty.  
"I feel the same." she replied. "I think if you weren't here I'd be pretty terrified…"  
"I'm glad we have each other."Ryan said softly. "I love you."  
"Love you too." Kelsi murmured back, smiling to herself.  
"Right enough of the mushy stuff." Ryan joked. "What's your room mate like?"  
"She's… Well… I haven't seen much of her…"  
Kelsi suddenly heard a lot of commotion from Ryan's end and what sounded like Mitch laughing hysterically.  
"Aaaah sorry Kelsi mind if I let you go? There's a… There's a drum kit issue!"  
"It's ok Ry." Kelsi grinned as she continued to hear what seemed to be Mitch's cymbals crashing around. "I'll see you at orientation tomorrow. Go fix the 'drum issue'."  
"Ok. Love you!"  
"Love you too."  
Kelsi hung up and let herself lean back on the pillows on her bed. She looked around her room and was satisfied to see that her personal items were starting to make it look more like home. Ryan's words had helped a lot too. they had each other. Everything would be fine.  
Suddenly there was a rap on the door. Seconds late Jen waltzed in. To Kelsi's relief she was fully dressed, wearing a short black dress and some high heeled boots to match.  
"I'm going out." Jen said bluntly. "Might not be back later. My number's on the fridge if you… I dunno… have an emergency or something." Her eyes wandered over to Kelsi's wall.  
"Straight out of high school." she said with a nod. It was a statement, not a question, but Kelsi felt the need to reply anyway.  
"Yeah. You're… not?"  
"Nah. Graduated two years ago. Anyway. Later."  
And with that she was gone. When the door closed behind her Kelsi let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. It looked like bonding with her new room mate was going to be more difficult than she had expected.

**Ryan**

"She… wow."  
"Yeah… It was awkward."  
Ryan tried to suppress a smile as Kelsi recalled how she had met her room mate, Jen, the previous day. Her face was even red as she told him about it. she could be so innocent sometimes…  
"So she's a gay acting major." Ryan confirmed. "And that's all you know about her?"  
"That's genuinely all I know." Kelsi nodded. "She was gone when I got up this morning. No idea where she went!" she said sadly.  
"Shouldn't she be here?" Ryan asked. They were currently sitting in Julliard's main auditorium., awaiting an introduction from the faculty. All students from all disciplines were expected there. Kelsi just shrugged.  
"I only realised she'd gone because I got no answer when I told her I'd made her tea." Kelsi said moodily. Ryan frowned at the thought of his girlfriend kindly making a cup of tea for a room mate that wasn't there.  
"Me and Mitch made french toast." Ryan said softly.  
"Of course you did." Kelsi muttered. Ryan did feel a little guilty. Him and Mitch had stayed up late playing guitar hero and then Mitch had made them both breakfast. They had bonded so quickly, but Kelsi didn't seem to be having the same experience with her room mate.  
"Was your first night ok?" Ryan asked in a low voice. His heart dropped as he saw her bite her lip, a sure sign something was worrying her.  
"It was… lonely." she replied in a flat voice. Ryan instinctively reached for her hand.  
"Why don't I come round tonight?"  
"Hi guys!" Mitch plonked himself in the seat next to Kelsi, listing his hand for a high five which Ryan returned. He thought he saw Kelsi roll her eyes, but he wasn't sure. Suddenly her eyebrows raised in surprise.  
"There! That's her there!"  
Ryan quickly looked over to where Kelsi was discreetly pointing. A girl in black faded jeans, large doc martin boots and a Julliard sweater swaggered into the room, her arm flung round a tall, willowy blonde girl. With her dark make-up and the purple in her hair, she looked more like a singer in a rock group than an acting student… Whatever acting students were supposed to look like.  
"Aw noooooooo!" Mitch whined, looking at the pair in despair. He met Kelsi and Ryan's confused expression with a shake of his head.  
"The blonde is the dancer across the hall from us. Guess I'm not in with a shot." he grimaced. Ryan sniggered and was happy to see that the comment managed to make Kelsi giggle too.  
The introductory session was inspirational no doubt. The tutors introduced themselves briefly. There was a talk on the history of the university and a long account of Julliard alumni. However, Ryan's feet were itching to dance and he was aching to see what the other dancers were like too. Soon enough the talk finished and the students all started to disperse to their first classes.  
"What do you have first?" Kelsi asked him, her face beaming. Ryan could only assume she was feeling the same way as him. an overwhelming eagerness to begin their training.  
"I've got a ballet class in half an hour. Maybe I should go now though to warm up. Make a good first impression." he replied. "You?"  
"Music theory, but not for an hour…"  
"Me too!" Mitch piped up. "Coffee? he asked Kelsi.  
"Sounds good." Kelsi grinned at his room mate. With that she gave Ryan a quick kiss and a 'good luck!' and disappeared down the corridor. Even if Kelsi wasn't ecstatic over her own room mate, at least she got along well with his.

**Kelsi**

Kelsi stood stark still in the doorway of the studio until she felt a prod in the small of her back.  
"You ok?" she heard Mitch hiss.  
"Yeah." she muttered back. "It's just… the piano."  
The studio was mostly just rows and rows of desks. However, in the corner their sat the most beautiful grand piano Kelsi had ever seen. A shiny, polished black it looked all the more impressive with the light pouring in through the windows and reflecting off its perfect surface.  
"It's new." said a voice on Kelsi's right. As she turned, she met the gaze of a tall thin man. the first thing that popped into Kelsi's head was 'grey'. His shabby suit was grey, his dishevelled hair was grey. His narrow eyes were even grey, though they looked kind.  
"It won't live here." he explained, looking at the instrument with a fondness. "It will be moved to the auditorium soon. Shame. I'd love to use it with my students…"  
"You're the piano teacher?" Kelsi asked. when he nodded in reply she added, "I'm Kelsi Nielson. Will I have lessons with you?"  
"Aaah the scholarship recipient?" he said with a smile. "I'll be seeing you later then. Have a seat."  
Kelsi took a seat next to Mitch, at the back of the room. He appeared to have latched onto some more students he knew but she was sure he wouldn't mind. He was the kind of person that seemed to make friends instantly with whoever he met. Kelsi watched him introduce himself to the group he had suddenly integrated and tried to give herself a mental kick. She had planned to leave shy, introverted Kelsi in Albuquerque. It was time to be New York Kelsi. She turned to the person next to her with determination.  
"Hi." she said with a smile. The boy next to her looked up from his notepad in surprise.  
"Have we met?" he asked slowly, his eyes uncertain. Kelsi took a second to look at him. He seemed to be built quite skinny, but he was wearing jeans and a sweater that swamped him. In addition he was slouched over, his long sandy hair almost flopping over his face. He looked sort of shy. Like her. Kelsi, hoping that he just needed a bit of encouragement, flashed a smile.  
"No… But I don't know anyone. So it can't hurt to say Hi right?" she said pleasantly, hoping he didn't think she was odd… To her relief, the boy smiled back.  
"True. I'm Mike. Guitar." he smiled, holding out his hand.  
"Kelsi. Composition." she replied, shaking his hand. It was a simple introduction, but she had done it. She appeared to have befriended someone!  
"Good morning everyone. My name is Professor Paul Martin and I believe I have the pleasure of addressing the freshman music students." he smiled.  
"You are still getting to know each other but I have already seen your applications and, some of you, your auditions. You all come from different musical backgrounds. Some of you have more experience in music theory than others. Music is a vast subject and as a result, as artists, you are, and will develop, in your own individual and unique way. Despite these differences, we will work through music theory together, as one unit. Some of you will struggle more than others but the main thing to remember in this class is that we support each other in our development."  
Kelsi and several of the other members of the class nodded in agreement. She had a feeling she was going to like Paul as a teacher.  
"I don't want you to freak out." Paul said, picking up a pile of paper from his desk. "But we're going to start with a little test. This is nothing formal!" he said, as he gaged the reactions in the room. "This is just to see what level we are all at."  
While Paul began handing out the test papers, Kelsi happened to catch Mitch's eye. His lips were in a tight line, his eyes wide with mild panic.  
"I am… AWFUL at theory." he mouthed at her. He laughed a little but his heart didn't seem to be in it.  
"Don't worry." she mouthed back, however, she was a bit anxious herself. She had never had any issues with theory, but how high a standard was she meant to be? The answer was, she had no idea!  
"It's very short." Paul said, as he took his place at the front of the room again. "I'll collect them in twenty minutes."  
As Kelsi wrote her name on her paper she felt her hand shaking slightly. She was having a sort of flashback to her Math final. That feeling where she looked at a list of questions that she not only didn't understand, but didn't care about. Not one bit. She took a breath and looked down at the paper. In a flash her doubts were gone. This was music. She understood music. She lived for music. No matter how difficult it was, nothing was going to change the fact that she would spend every day she was at college learning about her favourite thing in the world.  
Paul collected the papers, as he had promised, twenty minutes later. They spent the rest of the lesson going over some basic material. It was all material that Kelsi was familiar with, but she accepted that playing the piano inevitably gave her a good knowledge of theory. Mitch on the other hand, being a drummer, had a good knowledge of rhythm, found other aspects of music theory more challenging. Kelsi kept in mind what Paul had mentioned at the beginning of the class and did her best to give him a helping hand throughout the class. Kelsi soon learned that Mike's knowledge of theory was immaculate. He also appeared to have perfect pitch, something Kelsi was immediately jealous of.  
With five minutes left of class, a mischievous expression took over Paul's features.  
"I'm not really supposed to use the new piano." he said slowly. "But… it is tempting. Let me see. Can we have a demonstration on how our knowledge of different keys can assist us in improvisation? Kelsi? Would you do us the honours?"  
"Me?" Kelsi said dumbly, taken by surprise.  
"Well, only if you feel comfortable but I'm sure you're capable." Paul smiled. Kelsi froze. He wanted her to play Julliard's new grand piano, in front of all the music students in her year. Not only play… Improvise. Kelsi saw two options. She could take the safe option. Decline. Say she wasn't ready. Be timid, shy Kelsi. Or… she could play that piano.  
"Yes." she blurted out, standing up before she could change her mind. She walked to the front, tying to ignore her sweaty palms. As she sat at the piano she caught her reflection in the shining wood of the piano. Her scared reflection. Tearing her face away she looked down at the keys… and smiled. It was beautiful.  
"Anything?" she asked quietly.  
"Absolutely anything." Paul nodded. "I'll shout out when to change key. Now I've chosen Kelsi because she is a composition student and this sort of process should be familiar…"  
Kelsi began to play in C major, trying to imagine that she was back in her bedroom in Albuquerque, unwinding after a fun rehearsal, or a date with Ryan.  
"F major." Paul commanded. She switched effortlessly. "A minor."  
"See, one you have a knowledge of these keys, see how much you have to play with?" Paul said to the class. "B flat major."  
Kelsi let herself get lost in the piano sound. She had never played an instrument so beautiful. She was playing nonsense really, just anything in her head, but on the new piano it sounded unbearably sweet.  
"D major. E Flat Minor. G minor. G major. G minor. G major." Paul said quickly, but with a laugh in his voice that showed Kelsi he was just messing with her. Kelsi tried to keep up with his calls until the melody dissolved and she, and the rest of the class were laughing together.  
To Kelsi's delight, she had her one to one piano lesson with Professor Martin later that day. As she entered his studio, she saw that he had been correct earlier. The piano she had to play wasn't nearly as spectacular as the grand piano she had played earlier. However, the black shiny upright was still in perfect condition and a welcome change from her keyboard at home. Her lesson began the way she was used to, with a few scales and exercises to warm up. Then, Professor Martin took out a large battered notebook and pen and studied her closely.  
"Very good Kelsi. You've obviously been taught well. However, before we get stuck into the material, I want to learn a bit more about you. Let's start with why you want to work in music."  
Kelsi froze for a second. This was no what she had expected from her first piano lesson. It was such a weighted question that she didn't even know where to begin!  
"I… Well I've always… There's never really been anything else." she stammered. She started to feel her foot tap nervously and internally cursed herself for how annoyingly transparent she could be at times.  
"That's not a reason." Professor Martin said. The reply was blunt sounding, but he smiled kindly. "Take a minute to get your words together, if you like."  
Kelsi thought for a moment. Why music...  
"Music is the only thing that really makes sense." she finally said, settling on the description. "It is what makes me happiest. It can also make me incredibly unhappy, if I'm struggling with something. But I guess if you really care about something, more than anything, then it has the power to make you unhappy too." Kelsi explained slowly. She paused and looked up from her hands to look at her tutor, frightened that she was talking nonsense, but he just smiled back at her and nodded, urging her to continue.  
"I always loved to play, but when I started to write, I felt like I'd finally found something in my life that I completely understood. I got addicted." Kelsi grinned, remembering the feeling of staying up at her keyboard until sunrise to finish a song.  
"The first time I heard one of my song's being performed, like really being performed…" Kelsi reminisced, thinking of Troy and Gabriella, miles away in California, "I knew it was what I wanted to do. Like… with my life." Kelsi finished. She felt a little strange. Like she'd bared her soul.  
Professor Martin studied her for a second then smiled and sat up in his chair.  
"Good." he said curtly. "You're in the right place."  
From there they discussed her experience, the kind of tuition she had received in the past, the styles in which she liked to write and play, what sort of 'artist' she planned to be. She was then given the indulgence of playing some of her own work for the remainder of the class.  
"My lessons won't always be this indulgent." Professor Martin warned her as their time came to a close. "This was to get to know you as a student and as an artist. It will get difficult. Very difficult. I expect you to be using the practice rooms several times a week."  
"You don't need to worry about that. These pianos are beautiful." Kelsi replied as she packed up her things. Truth be told, she couldn't wait to start using the practice rooms!  
"There aren't very many composition students." her tutor remarked. "And as far as I know, none of them are inclined towards popular music or musical theatre. I expect good things from you Miss Neilson." he said sternly, or as stern as such a seemingly kind could be, and so ended Kelsi's first piano lesson, the first of many, at Julliard.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello friends! Thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm loving writing this story :)**

**Fact of the day, Oleysa Rulin plays a small part in a short film that Lucas Grabeel stars in called "Chuckle Boy". The film's pretty cool and it's always lovely to see the Rylsie pairing on screen :P Youtube it! **

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**_Kelsi_**

Kelsi's first days at Julliard only consisted of a few classes, but it had felt like the longest day of her life. She practically skipped down the steps to the main courtyard where she planned to meet Ryan after class. They had planned to get stuck into part-time job hunting straight away. Strictly speaking, one word to his parents would prevent Ryan from having to earn any money to keep him afloat, but Ryan seemed determined to pay his own way. Kelsi had taken to teasing him about how long this would realistically last, but truth be told she was proud of his decision. Ryan wanted any success he achieved to be a product of his own hard work, something Kelsi understood completely.

It was a bright Autumn day and the Julliard students were making the most of it, flooding the courtyard, either making their way onto the streets of New York or sitting on the grass to chat to their friends. The symptoms of a Performing Arts School were everywhere. A couple were practicing dance lifts in the shade of a large tree. A quartet of string players sat by a wall, playing a classical piece softly. As Kelsi looked around the crowds of people she caught sight of Jen. She was walking with the same blonde girl from before, whom Kelsi assumed was her girlfriend, and definitely caught her eye. Kelsi instantly smiled politely and waved. Jen gave a minuscule nod and carried on walking, a bored expression on her face. Kelsi sighed. Her 'friendship' with Jen was a working progress…

"Hey!" Kelsi spun round at the familiar voice and instantly threw her arms around Ryan. However, instead of the hug she usual received back, Ryan instantly recoiled, his face wincing in pain.

"Oh sorry! I didn't realise I was so strong…" Kelsi said meekly, looking at her hands in surprise.

"You're not." Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "My ballet teacher crippled me." he groaned

"Oh!" Kelsi exclaimed as she anxiously watched Ryan rub his arms where Kelsi had tried to hug him "It was that bad?"

"Everything hurts! Physically an emotionally!" Ryan said dramatically, his eyes wide. "Kelsi… she told me to hold my leg up as high as it would go then put her cigarette underneath my thigh. Her LIT cigarette Kelsi!" Ryan hissed, frantically pointing at his right leg for affect.

"What?!" Kelsi shrieked, making some students around her look her way in surprise, "She burned you?!"

"No I kept my leg up thankfully." Ryan said, though his face was full of pride, rather than the shock that Kelsi would have expected.

"Ryan that's awful." Kelsi said soothingly, holding his hand "Maybe you can complain or…"

"Complain?" Ryan asked, giving Kelsi a puzzled look. "Oh no I'm glad she did it. I mean, it was terrifying, but look how high my kicks are!"

Kelsi watched in awe as Ryan suddenly threw his right leg into the air, making it sail effortlessly above his head. He looked positively over-joyed for half a second before the pain kicked in.

"Aaaaaaah mistake!" Ryan groaned, suddenly leaning on Kelsi for support.

"Let's get you a seat." Kelsi sighed as she helped Ryan hobble over to a nearby bench. Once he had gingerly lowered himself to a seating position, Kelsi felt free to let out a small giggle.

"Does my pain amuse you? Loving girlfriend?" Ryan asked sarcastically, his mouth twitching at the corners.

"No… It's just… Sometimes dancers seem like a completely different species." Kelsi smiled. Apparently Ryan hadn't been exaggerating when he said he was hurting everywhere. Even the smallest moves he made had him wincing in pain.

"Yeah I guess we can be a bit…"

"Masochistic?" Kelsi joked as she gave Ryan a wicked grin. Ryan raised his eyebrows at her and she instantly felt her cheeks redden.

"Haven't seen a blush that red in a while." Ryan smirked, toughing her face and pretending to burn himself. Kelsi narrowed her eyes, determined to get back at him. She leaned in close to him, until their lips were almost touching, as if to give him a kiss.

"You know Ry." she said huskily. "You probably shouldn't make fun of the person who's helping you walk…" Kelsi leapt up from the bench and began to skip away, humming a little tune to herself.

"I take it back!" Ryan yelled after her. "Don't make me crawl back to my dorm!"

"I take it you're not in a fit state to trail around New York looking for jobs then?" Kelsi asked with a twinge of regret. She had actually been looking forward to exploring New York a little, having never been.

"Sorry Kels." Ryan said genuinely. "I'm completely…"

"Messed up right?!" a loud voice interrupted him. Over Ryan's right shoulder appeared the tallest woman Kelsi had ever seen. She was dark-skinned with short cropped black hair, sharp features and dark intense eyes and, although she was as thin as a beanpole, she had an athletic toned look to her. A dancer if Kelsi had ever seen one, and a striking one at that. Ryan turned to acknowledge her and instantly let out a grunt of pain as his shoulders twisted round.

"Yep." he sighed, delicately turning back to his original position.

"Tell me about it! I'm in agony!" the girl continued as she hopped over the wall to sit next to Ryan. She had, what sounded like, a thick South African accent which made her seem even more exotic to Kelsi than she had already.

"This is Dominique." Ryan said, gesturing towards the girl.

"Dom." the girl quipped, rolling her eyes. "So this must be the composer girlfriend?" Kelsi suddenly felt nervous as the girl's dark eyes fixed on her own. Although her face looked kind, with her tremendous height and intense, angular features, Kelsi couldn't help but feel intimidated. However, she forced herself to speak up.

"Yeah. Kelsi." she squeaked, holding her hand out to the girl. Dom gave her a strong handshake before giving her and Ryan a wide, toothy grin.

"So are you both coming to my party tonight then yeah?" she asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"I dunno Dom, some of us actually need to look for work in this town." Ryan commented cheekily. "Dom worked as a model in L.A so she just transferred to the agency's New York branch." Ryan said to Kelsi, filling her in.

"Oh that's great!" Kelsi said, not surprised in the slightest that Dom was a professional model.

"Hmmm tell me that when Winter's here and I'm doing a bikini shoot outside in sub zero temperatures." Dom joked.

"I guess even the best jobs have their drawbacks." Kelsi grinned. "Well, I don't think Ryan's really fit for job hunting today…"

"Maybe I can walk it off!" he piped up as he began trying to ease himself up from the wall.

"Can you even walk? At all?" Dom laughed as she tried to support him by holding one of his arms. "Come to the party! We don't have class until 2pm tomorrow and it's pilates. We can sleep through it!" she said encouragingly. Ryan looked to Kelsi who shrugged.

"It'll be fun."

_**Ryan** _

Tap ti tap ti tap tap ti ti tap ti tap ti tap tap

"Dude!" Ryan eventually snapped, elbowing Mitch in his side.

"Sorry." Mitch sniggered as he held up his hands in defence, ceasing the drum solo he was doing with his hands on his legs. "Drummer problems…"

Ryan just smirked and shook his head. He had only known Mitch a two days but it already felt like they had been friends for ages. They had just clicked right away. In some ways they were so similar. They both had a lot of energy and their two days of living together so far had mostly consisted of creating silly games. Like how long they could balance things on their noses and trying to poke each other in the mouth whenever one of them yawned… However, in some ways they were completely different. For example, Ryan, possibly due to years of dance training, was NOT a fidget. In fact he prided himself on always standing with good posture and presence. Mitch on the other hand was the world's worst sloucher (Ryan wanted more than anything to straighten his back on a daily basis, but had so far refrained) and he needed to drum EVERYWHERE. Tables, worktops and especially his own legs. Right now they were outside Kelsi's door, waiting for her to join them so they could go to Dom's party. Ryan stood, tall, still and patiently. Mitch was giving him a full percussion concert using just the palms of his hands.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Kelsi exclaimed as she finally appeared, looking at the two of them in disbelief. "Did you bring the cast of 'Stomp'?"

"It was… Wow." Ryan said dumbly, just as Mitch let out a low whistle at the same time.

Kelsi was dressed simply, her hair in its usual loose curly style, a smart beret on her head. However, she had ditched her glasses for the night, opting for contacts that let her bright blue eyes be seen. She wore a pair of tight fitted skinny jeans, heels and a tight teal satin blouse that showed just a hint of cleavage. Yes it was simple, but she somehow looked sophisticated and sexy at the same time.

"Sharpay got me the blouse." Kelsi said, biting her lip uncertainly.

"It's… nice. Really nice." Ryan said, suddenly very aware that Mitch was right beside him .

"Ok so Kelsi looks hot in her blouse. Moving on. We have a party to get to." Mitch said, marching in front. Ryan gave him a playful shove before holding out his hand to Kelsi. He was looking forward to entering the party with such a vision hanging on to him.

When they reached Dom's dorm the party was already in full swing. As Dom ushered them through to the dorm's common area, Ryan noticed that all the furniture had been pushed aside to leave a wide open space. A large stereo in the corner was playing loud music and a lot of the students were already dancing. There were even some small disco lights placed around the room to give it more of a 'club' atmosphere.

"What do you want to drink?!" Dom yelled over the music.

"Beer!" Mitch shouted back immediately.

_Okaaaay so we're drinking alcohol._ Ryan thought.

He wasn't really very experienced drink wise and he was sure Kelsi was the same. His parents generally let him drink with meals or for celebrations but only a few glasses. Ryan and Kelsi had both had nights with the other wildcats where they had managed to get a few drinks in and get a bit tipsy. But it was difficult enough to get alcohol underage, let alone large amounts of it. Wine seemed like a safe option.

"White Wine for me and Kels!" Ryan shouted back to Dom. She gave them a thumbs up and seconds later as back with plastic cups for the three of them.

"To the first of many college parties." Mitch announced, holding his cup up. The three of them pushed the cups together and took a drink.

Mitch predictably vanished within a few minutes. He was so quick to make friends he just seemed to merge into people's groups. Luckily there were plenty of other people to talk to. Dom's room-mate was another dancer called Carmen. Ryan remembered her from class earlier that day. Her technique was very advanced and she had a friendly outgoing nature. Then Mitch introduced them to a couple of musicians Tom and Dylan. Tom was a double bass player and Dylan played saxophone. Ryan saw Kelsi instantly make note of this. As a composition student she would need to befriend as many of the college's musicians as possible so she could use them to play on the pieces she wrote. However, she seemed to gel with the pair straight away and before long they were swapping inside music jokes that he didn't really understand… Then Kelsi introduced her to Mike, a guy from one of her classes. A shy introverted type, Ryan could see why she had befriended him. However, no matter how good Kelsi looked in her outfit, he didn't like how much Mike seemed to notice this fact too. Ryan knew it was nothing to be concerned about… but he did make sure to give Kelsi a lingering kiss when he was nearby. Just to make things clear of course… At some point in the night, Kelsi came across her room mate Jen. Ryan and Kelsi had both had a bit to drink by this point and as a result greeted her quite enthusiastically.

"Hi!" They sang in unison before collapsing into peals of laughter at each other.

"Ryan…" Kelsi gasped between laughs. "You… you haven't even met Jen!"

"Sorry." Ryan giggled, trying to stop himself from laughing even more at the bored expression on Jen's face.

"Hi." she said indifferently.

"Ummm I think we saw your girlfriend earlier she… Well she was…" Kelsi was looking round the room, her eyes unfocussed.

"She's not really my girlfriend." Jen said blankly. "We just sleep together."

"Oh… Nice!" Kelsi said brightly, flashing Jen a friendly smile. Ryan burst out laughing again at just how adorable his girlfriend was after a few drinks.

"I'm sorry!" he spluttered, as he flung an arm round Kelsi and kissed her temple. "She's a bit drunk." he said in a stage whisper to Jen.

"Yeah. Good job you're here to keep her on the straight and narrow." Jen said, and with a roll of her eyes she left.

"I think she was insh… insinuating that you're also drunk." Kelsi said with a wicked grin. "

What?!" Ryan gasped mockingly. "Whatever gave her that impression?"

"It might have been the stage whisper." Kelsi said, impersonating the way Ryan had whispered before.

As they laughed together, Ryan tried to focus. Now he thought about it, he was feeling the affects of alcohol more than he ever had. He felt ok, but he and Kelsi definitely seemed just a little bit more than tipsy.

"Maybe we should go." Ryan murmured in Kelsi's ear. "We have class tomorrow and…"

Ryan stopped abruptly as he saw Kelsi visibly shiver. He didn't know what was going on until he noticed the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She had shuddered from him whispering in her ear. She had liked it. He suddenly noticed they had locked eyes and that his hand had drifted to her waist. Without thinking he dipped down to kiss her. Usually their kisses began sweet, and then sometimes developed into something deeper and more passionate. But this kiss was hungry from the start. Rougher. The wine seemed to have stripped away some of their inhibitions and Ryan could feel his hands starting to pull her closer, as if against his will. It took Kelsi to break away for Ryan to remember they were not alone, and in fact surrounded by their fellow students.

"Yep." Kelsi said softly. "Class tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes to Dom, Mitch and anyone else they had met that night and made their way back to Kelsi's dorm, since it was on the same floor. When they reached Kelsi's door she looked shyly up at him.

"I think… I'm a bit drunk." she giggled.

"I noticed. It's cute." Ryan grinned in reply, tucking a lose strand of hair into her beret. Their eyes met and they held eachother's gaze for a few seconds, as if trying to gage what the other was thinking.

"I'm going to have a tea." Kelsi said simply. "You want one."

Ryan nodded, his mouth suddenly quite dry. There was a subtext here and it was as if neither of them quite knew what it was yet. Like they were dipping their toes into the water. On entering the common area of Kelsi's dorm, the first thing he noticed was how tidy it was in comparison to his. Ryan had never noticed how quickly dishes accumulated until he was expected to clean them himself! Kelsi and Jen however seemed to be coping just fine. He stood awkwardly in the centre of the room as Kelsi went to boil the kettle. It was strange how they could talk forever in any other given situation, but now words seemed to be failing them. Kelsi turned back from the kitchen area to face him.

"It'll just be a minute." she said with a shy smile.

"You look beautiful." Ryan said quickly.

Kelsi blinked in surprise and Ryan winced internally.

"That was supposed to come out smoother." Ryan muttered, taking off his newsboy cap and running a hand through his hair. He looked at the floor for a second and when he looked back up he nearly jumped. Kelsi was suddenly right there, their faces inches apart. Then his lips were on hers. His hands dropped the cap and hers instantly leapt up to run through his hair. He crushed his body against her petite frame like he had wanted to at the party, wrapping his arms tightly around her back, reveling in the feel of the soft satin of her blouse. Between kisses they issued little gasps, the alcohol in their breath mingling together. For a moment, Ryan let himself get lost in everything Kelsi. The curve that ran down the side of her body. The sweet smell of her hair. The softness and the fragility of the skin on her collarbone. The way she shuddered when his thumb strayed near the waistband of her jeans…

"Ryan!"

His eyes flew open and he was back in reality. Kelsi was staring back at him, cheeks flushed, lips parted and taking deep breaths, her beret, long abandoned, lying on the floor.

"We should… go to bed." Kelsi said slowly.

Ryan squinted at her. Did she mean…

"Our own beds!" Kelsi said quickly, looking flustered. "I mean we should… slow down. Maybe?"

"Yeah. Yeah of course." Ryan said softly, still trying to gather his thoughts. "It's late."

"We have class and…"

"Exactly." Ryan said, forcing a smile. "See you tomorrow?"

Kelsi nodded, smiling sweetly at him as she flattened her dishevelled hair.

"I love you." Ryan added, as he crept out the door.

"I love you too." Kelsi replied, giving him a quick kiss before disappearing back into her dorm.

Ryan didn't go back to his room. Not right away anyway. He let out a long exhale and leaned against the corridor wall, thinking on what had just happened, or what was still happening to him. He wanted her. It had always been in the back of his mind of course, but there had been so many obstacles in their relationship that they hadn't had much of a chance to address the physical side of things. First had been the looming of graduation, then their temporary hiatus over summer, then the move to New York. Now here they were, away from adult supervision and throwing alcohol into the mix. No wonder things had heated up so quickly. However, the way she had abruptly halted proceedings was enough to tell Ryan that he had to be patient. He more or less certain that Kelsi was not experienced in the way he was and the last thing he wanted was her to feel pressured or uncomfortable. Unfortunately for him, his first time hadn't been incredibly special… Not that it had been unpleasant. Just two teenagers, not really that into each other racked with hormones, acting on them because 'what the hell, why not?'. No, Kelsi's first time was going to be special, and for that to happen he had to give her time. She obviously wasn't ready, but that was OK. Kelsi was definitely a girl worth waiting for.

"I'm in love with her." Ryan murmured to himself, smiling up at the ceiling.

He still couldn't quite get used to the idea that this had happened. That he had been lucky enough to find and fall for a girl like Kelsi and for her to love him back. Even the fact that he was having this debate with himself seemed surreal. Even more, was the idea that he didn't really care about his own feelings. He just wanted her to be happy. And that, in Ryan's view, was the definition of love.

Feeling like his mind was a bit clearer, Ryan pushed away from the wall to leave. He involuntarily gasped as pain shot up his legs. Oh yeah... his sore muscles. Ryan grinned as he realised this was the first time he had noticed the pain since he had seen Kelsi emerge from her room...

* * *

**Thanks for reading! If you have any thoughts, please review! xxx**


	6. Chapter 5

**Big big thank you to musicrules1923 for all the reviews :D Ever so kind! Enjoy the chapter everybody! **

* * *

_**Kelsi **_

The first thing Kelsi heard the next morning was a thud, right next to her ear. She woke with a start, looking around wildly for the source of the noise. Finally her eyes came to rest on a tall glass of water on her bedside table, accompanied by a pack of painkillers.

"Your schedule on the fridge says you don't have class for a few hours yet but you better start recovering now."

Kelsi looked up and saw Jen's blurry figure standing over her.

"Ugh I left my contacts in." Kelsi mumbled, as her eyes started to sting. Trying to ignore the thumping in her head, she crawled out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. Once she had finished the unpleasant task of peeling the contact lenses from her eyes, she returned to her bed and put on her glasses. Jen was still standing there, arms folded.

"Is everything ok?" Kelsi asked uncertainly, wondering why her room mate was still in her bedroom. Jen was silent for a few seconds.

"Just… don't forget your water." she sighed, before leaving.

Despite her terrible headache, Kelsi managed a small smile as Jen left. It was sweet of her to have left the water and pills, even if she seemed a little embarrassed by the gesture. Kelsi gratefully gulped the water and took a couple of painkillers before pulling herself out of bed to get dressed. As she padded around her room Kelsi tried to piece the night before together. The party had been fun and had been an excellent chance to meet people. She remembered bonding with two musicians that Mitch had introduced them too. She remembered lots of wine and dancing closely with Ryan in the makeshift dance floor in Dom's dorm…. Kelsi froze in the middle of putting on a pair of jeans. Ryan. Of course. The moment they had shared back at her dorm. Just through in the other room. It was a blurry memory, but what Kelsi mostly remembered was feeling as if she was on fire and that getting Ryan closer to her was the only way to put the fire out. She had stopped it though. Why had she stopped it? Of course she'd stopped it! They were both drunk, neither of them thinking clearly. Going… all the way was a big step, especially for her.

_"Plus, I wouldn't have a clue what I was doing."_ Kelsi's inner monologue said grumpily. However, something hit her at that moment. She wanted to take that step. In fact, she had a feeling that she had wanted to take that step for a while now, and just hadn't acknowledged it. They hadn't really been given a chance to address it as a couple. Everything had been so up and down for her and Ryan since they had gotten together and as soon as things had started to go a bit linear, the small matter of moving to New York had come up. With everything else going on, Kelsi hadn't really given it much thought. Now however, they had their own space (more or less), their own time… nothing in their way. Last night hadn't been the right moment, but she was ready. She just knew it. All she needed now was a little consultation… Finally settling on the decision, Kelsi darted towards her bedside table, where her cell lay charging.

Unfortunately, Kelsi had not considered that her jeans were still halfway on and she tumbled face first to the floor, letting out a little shriek of pain. Although there was nobody there to see the embarrassing fall, even thinking about how stupid she looked made Kelsi's face redden slightly. Then she heard a knocking on her door.

"Kelsi! You ok?"

"Fine!" Kelsi squeaked in reply. She tried to scramble to her feet to no avail. She seemed to be entangled in a pair of jeans! After wrestling her way into a standing position she started to scour the room for her cell phone. Remembering she'd left it in the kitchen the night before she stormed through into the next room. Jen was leaning against the counter holding a mug when she entered.

"Good to see you're not so self-conscious anymore." she smirked, looking Kelsi up and down. Kelsi frowned in response for a second, then realised she hadn't put her shirt on yet. She was so hyped up that instead of being embarrassed she just let out a loud laugh.

"Guess I'm settling in." she grinned before retreating back into her room. She paused for a minute, staring at the speed dial on her phone. Who to call… Definitely NOT Ryan's sister. Martha was her closest friend from Albuquerque but as far as she knew, she was as inexperienced as Kelsi was. Taylor left for Yale in a few days and Kelsi didn't want to interrupt one of her last few days with Chad. By process of elimination, she opted to call Gabriella.

"Hi Kelsi! How's New York? Are you…"

"IwanttohavesexwithRyan!"

"Uuuh… What?" Gabriella replied uncertainly.

"Sorry." Kelsi said breathlessly. "I've had a bit of an epiphany and I need some girl talk. Is now a good time?"

"You came to the right place." Gabriella said sweetly. "Troy, can I get you to leave for two minutes? It's Kelsi and... "

There was some commotion on Gabriella's end and then a bright, "Hey playmaker!"

"Hi Troy." Kelsi said meekly. She did miss Troy, but now wasn't really the time to catch up...

"How are you?! How's New... Hey!"

There was some more commotion (which Kelsi could only hope was Gabriella stealing the phone back) followed by some quiet murmuring (Kelsi was sure she heard the phrase 'girl talk') and then finally Troy spoke again.

"Hey, sorry playmaker I know you guys need to talk, but I just wanted to check everything's OK. How's New York?"

"I haven't seen much of it yet..." Kelsi admitted. "But yeah everything's fine. I just... I need Gabby for..."

"Yeah yeah I know." Troy laughed. "Don't worry I'm leaving! We're catching up soon though!"

"Ugh sorry!" Gabriella sighed when Kelsi heard a door close on the other end. "So… Ryan. You were saying how you want to..."

"Yeah." Kelsi said shyly. "I feel ready to… you know… go all the way. But I don't know how to sort of… I can't figure out…"

"How to make it happen?" Gabriella asked helpfully.

"Yeah I guess."Kelsi replied. There was something so accepting about Gabriella that put her entirely at ease. She was suddenly very glad she had settled on calling her. She knew that, no matter what she said, she wouldn't be judged.

"Well I suppose it's different for everyone." Gabriella said thoughtfully."When things started to move faster with me and Troy we just sat down and talked about it."

"But, what did you talk about?" Kelsi asked desperately.

"Well Troy brought it up and he wanted to check that I was on the same page. The next time we were alone in the treehouse together it just sort of… happened." she explained fondly.

"The treehouse!" Kelsi exclaimed, remembering back to the impressive hut she had seen in troy's back yard. "Gabby that's quite… daring for you!"

"I know." Gabriella giggled. "Troy seems to bring out that side of me."

"I think if I try and talk about I'll just freeze up and turn red." Kelsi muttered. She had found it hard enough to talk to her friends about this stuff, let alone Ryan...

"Well hey, just because that worked for us, doesn't mean it will be the best way for you." Gabriella explained. "I mean, we all know Taylor's story…" she laughed. Kelsi chuckled as she remembered the sleepover when Taylor had told them about the first time she and Chad had slept together. What had started out as an argument about what movie they should see that evening quickly escalated into a steamy love-making session. Needless to say the trip to the movies was forgotten. Taylor liked to joke that Chad now tried to dissolve every argument this way.

"Yeah somehow I can't picture Tay and Chad sitting down to have a civilised discussion about sex…" Kelsi giggled.

"Kelsi, anyone can look at you two and know you're in love. If you have that on your side you have nothing to worry about." she said kindly. "Everything will just… fall into place."

There was a pause… then Gabriella started to giggle uncontrollably.

"I KNEW you'd cave!" Kelsi laughed.

"Wait… wait let me say it." Gabriella gasped.

"No pun intended!" they crowed together before descending into giggles again. It had only been a few days, but Kelsi had to say she missed her fellow wildcats.

* * *

Kelsi sat drumming her pencil against the desk in front of her. She normally enjoyed her Music History lectures but she really needed today's classes to be over. She had thought long and hard about when to make her move. Most days, Ryan's schedule was incredibly rigorous. They were only a fortnight into their first year at Julliard and, although they did manage to see each other every day, most evenings Ryan was exhausted. Ryan was confident that his stamina would improve, his sleeping pattern would adapt and that he would be back to normal soon but for the moment Ryan had been insisting on giving himself and early night, even the last couple of weekends when they had been out looking for jobs. Kelsi held back a grin at the memory of how last weekends job hunting session had gone.

_"This is so unfair!" Ryan whined. "Why won't anyone hire me?!" _

_"Because you've never had to work a day in your life." Kelsi joked. Ryan glared at her and made a big show of letting go of her hand before she laughed and retrieved it. _

_"Don't worry. Something will come up." she reassured him. _

_"Easy for you to say miss 'the first job I applied for hired me in the same day'" said Ryan, rolling his eyes. Kelsi had to admit she had been pretty lucky. A sheet music store, just off times square had taken one look at her resumee and had taken her on straight away. She kept trying to remind Ryan that this was mostly due to the fact that she had been able to work as a pianist at Lava Springs that summer before senior year but he still seemed a bit down trodden that he hadn't been as lucky. _

_"They can only give me a few hours a week." she reminded Ryan. "I imagine I'll need to get something else too." _

_"You have something though." Ryan huffed "Honestly, people complain that there's too much unemployment in this country and yet no one will give a hard working, high school graduate, Julliard student a job!" _

_"To be honest, the 'Julliard student' thing is probably putting them off." Kelsi said nervously. "They said to me at 'Sheet Stop' that they were only giving me a few hours a week because they've had performing arts students work for them before and they usually leave the job or cut their hours because of their workload." _

_"Great." Ryan grumbled."Just great."_

A week on and Kelsi had managed to find a second job working in a tearoom, before Ryan had even found a first job! In any case, with Ryan adapting to his physically demanding schedule, and looking for jobs in-between, Kelsi hadn't had an ideal chance to make her move. Until now. Ryan's schedule today was a touch gentler, consisting of lectures instead of hands on classes, choreography (where he spent more time creating the moves rather than dancing) and a relaxing yoga class to end his day. Yesterday, Mitch had announced that he'd be seeing a band in Brooklyn that night and he planned to crash at a friend who lived there. Ryan didn't know how Mitch had befriended someone with an apartment in Brooklyn in the space of two weeks but he didn't question it. Mitch just seemed to be that kind of person. The point was that, with Mitch gone and it being Saturday the next day, Ryan had suggested taking a night off from searching for jobs so he and Kelsi could have some privacy. He had suggested 'watching a movie'. Now Kelsi wasn't very experienced but she was pretty sure she knew what 'watching a movie meant'. It gave her confidence in her plan. They were constantly in a state of sexual tension. She had stopped proceedings last time so she figured all she had to do this time was just let things run their course. It was like Gabriella had said. They were in love. She trusted Ryan more than anyone. Everything would be perfect.

_**Ryan** _

Ryan practically skipped out of his last class of the day. He always felt so refreshed after a yoga session.

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Dom asked, playfully hitting him on the head with her yoga mat, which was easily done considering she was at least a couple of inches taller than him.

"Mitch is out of town." Ryan said cheerfully.

"Oh nooooo!" Dom said, pouting mockingly. "What are you going to do without your boyfriend."

"Uuuuh invite my girlfriend over." Ryan replied with a wink.

"Aaah! Well you kids have fun."

As she left she wiggled her eyebrows at Ryan suggestively. He chuckled in reply but didn't say anything. What Dom didn't know was that this was he had been afraid of. He honestly just wanted a bit of time to be with Kelsi alone so they could just be themselves and hang out and kiss, without Mitch purposely clattering around to make a point that he wasn't paying them any attention… but ironically drawing attention to himself. Ever since he'd suggested it yesterday he'd been anxious that Kelsi saw the situation the same way that Dom had. Like he was suggesting something else. As a result, Ryan had made it his mission to make it as clear as possible that this was not his intention. He was going to be the best boyfriend he could be and make sure his girlfriend was in no way uncomfortable. Suddenly something small crashed into him.

"Hey watch where you're going!" Ryan looked down to see who the owner of the indignant voice was and saw to his surprise that it was Kelsi's room mate.

"Hey! Jen right?" he said brightly. She pushed a mass of brown and purple hair off her face and nodded, her face contorted in a frown.

"I'm Ryan, Kelsi's boyfriend." Ryan continued, despite the hostility he felt from the girl. "I'm sorry by the way, I was on another planet." he laughed. She didn't laugh along.

"It's cool." she said flatly and went to move off.

"Hey…" Ryan put his hand on her shoulder, then immediately removed it from the look she gave him, "Sorry if Kelsi and I were a bit annoying at the party last week. I guess we're both lightweights." he said good naturedly. He remembered Kelsi mentioning that Jen was two years older. He imagine that drunk 18 year olds were a bit tiresome for her. To his surprise she smiled.

"It's fine. I'm a couple of years older than most of the students here. Probably take myself a bit too seriously sometimes."

"Oh no not at all." Ryan said with a friendly smile. This wasn't strictly true. Jen did look like she could do with enjoying herself a bit more. But you don't insult people before you ask for favours…

"Jen, me and Kelsi have only been a couple for a few months, but we've been friends quite a long time. Would you watch out for her a bit? She'd never even been on a plane before she came here. She's come a long way but she can still be quite… introverted."

"What do you want me to do?" Jen asked, looking puzzled.

"Nothing really." Ryan struggled for words, now feeling a bit foolish. "I just mean… Ugh I'm sure she's fine but I worry about her sometimes. About how she's handling such a big change. But I can't look after her all the time…"

"I'll keep an eye on her." Jen said with a nod.

"Great!" Ryan beamed. "Nothing much really. Just, maybe give her a cup of tea if she's looking down? She loves tea. Or…"

"I've already got it covered Blondie." Jen chuckled.

"Blondie?" Ryan said dumbly. That was new… And what did she mean she had it covered?

"I don't know if you've noticed," Jen said seriously, "But I don't have a whole lot of social skills."

"I thought you just didn't like me." Ryan admitted. "Or anyone really…"

"There's not a whole lot I can do." Jen continued as if she hadn't heard him. "But I can give her water and painkillers after a drunken party. I can refrain from using the internet in the evening so she can Skype her family easily and I can make a mean cup of tea. She'll be fine." Jen said in a businesslike manner.

"Oh." said Ryan in surprise. "Well… that's great. thanks. Jen gave him another rare smile and went to walk away, before briefly turning back.

"Don't tell her, Blondie." she said nervously. "It's… weird." Ryan mimed zipping his lips, locking them and throwing away the key. Jen just gave him a dead look and stalked off.

_**Kelsi **_

Kelsi looked at herself in the mirror, the expression on her face dubious. She was surrounded by a ring of discarded clothes. Her eyes flicked nervously to her bedside clock. She was already five minutes late and she still couldn't figure out what to wear. How did you just decide what outfit you were going to lose your virginity in?! Eventually Kelsi's decision turned out to be embarrassingly practical. She went for a dress. Despite all the dancing in Senior Year she was still terribly clumsy, and she didn't need a situation like what had happened with her jeans a couple of weeks ago… She looked in her mirror. The dress was navy with sunflowers on it. It was a bit sweet, considering it was for seducing her boyfriend, but it was reasonably tight, showing off her figure. It was also quite short. Ryan had mentioned before that he especially liked her legs so she figured it couldn't hurt. As Kelsi went to leave she heard a playful wolf whistle from Jen who was lounging on the sofa.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Jen smirked.

"Umm, my boyfriend." Kelsi said awkwardly. Jen just kept grinning and Kelsi got the impression that Jen enjoyed making her feel uncomfortable.

"Oh yeah, Blondie." Jen said.

"Ryan.. But yeah sure." Kelsi smiled and went to walk out.

"I bumped into him earlier. Literally." Jen said abruptly.

"Short problems." Kelsi said with a grin as she looked back. To her delight Jen let out a little chuckle.

"Yeah… He's nice. Think you'll be back tonight?" Jen asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Hmmm. Hopefully not." Kelsi grinned as she left the dorm, not even stopping to see Jen's reaction.

Feeling too agitated for the elevator, she bounded up the stairs to Ryan's dorm. When she reached his door she knocked. After a few seconds she knocked again. And again. Kelsi frowned. Where was he?

"Ryan?" she called out tentatively. She could hear him shuffling around behind the door so she knew he was definitely there. "C'mon Ryan." she said playfully, starting up a continual tapping on the door.

Suddenly, without warning, it flew open. Kelsi's eyes widened at the sight. Ryan seemed to be in the midst of getting dressed. He was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. They were still unbuttoned, revealing his grey boxers underneath, and he seemed to be holding them up with one hand. His toned torso was glistening with a sheen of sweat, his hair unstyled and in a tousled unruly mess. Kelsi knew she had to stop staring. He looked embarrassed and it was rude. But she couldn't.

"Kels." Kelsi forced herself to look in his eyes.

"Sorry." he said looking flustered. "I spent too long getting ready. Come in." Kelsi walked in slowly, feeling a bit dazed, and sat down on the sofa while Ryan dashed back into his room. She couldn't help thinking that she hadn't expected him to be undressed THAT quickly…

* * *

Kelsi watched Ryan tentatively. He was oblivious to the way her eyes were burning into the side of his head as he stayed focused on the film in front of him. Kelsi had suggested Chicago in the hope that a sultry looking film would help set the mood. Ryan had insisted they watch 'Top Hat'. Kelsi loved Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers but the film didn't exactly say 'sensual' like Chicago did…

"We did a tap number to this in class yesterday." Ryan said excitedly as the title number began.

Kelsi bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. He was on the opposite side of the sofa from her and she couldn't think of a way to move over there without looking painfully obvious. Does it matter if it's obvious? Kelsi thought to herself. With this in mind, she scooted over to him. He glanced at her and gave her a brief smile before turning his attention back to the screen. Ok now what? Her switch in position hadn't achieve anything. He hadn't even put his arm round her. She carefully reached down to hold his hand, which he took. He lifted their clasped hands to his lips and gave her fingers a chaste kiss. Normally Kelsi would have found this sweet, but sweet wasn't quite the mood she was going for. Gathering her courage, Kelsi leaned over and gave Ryan a slow, lingering kiss on his neck. The warmth of his skin and the proximity of their bodies nearly made Kelsi shiver, but Ryan seemed unchanged. She tried it again, this time, stroking his leg delicately for affect.

"You're missing the best bit." Ryan whispered.

With a frown, Kelsi slumped back down in her chair. What was going on? Had Ryan honestly meant just watch a movie? Maybe he was just enamoured with the tap section. Kelsi waited until it was over, and in the meantime racked her brain.

_How do people flirt? How do people flirt?_ she thought desperately.

The dress! Maybe the dress could help? She stood up abruptly then cursed herself internally as she realised she had nowhere to go now she was up from the sofa.

"Everything ok?" Ryan asked, his eyes annoyingly wide with innocence.

"Yes." Kelsi said stiffly. "I just need… Do you want some tea?"

"Ummm I think we're out of milk." Ryan said, his brow furrowing in confusion. Kelsi you don't just offer someone tea in THEIR kitchen!

"Right. And this is your dorm anyway so… shouldn't be helping myself to your tea." Kelsi said with a nervous laugh. Ryan looked absolutely baffled. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." she said bluntly, before vanishing out of the room.

Kelsi shut the bathroom door behind her, leaned against it and put her head in her hands. This was a disaster. She splashed a little cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe he's just not in the mood tonight. Maybe he doesn't want to. Maybe you got it wrong… Kelsi took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. One last try. She returned to the living room and sat as close to Ryan as she could without sitting on him.

"Ryan?" she said softly.

He turned to her and she caught him fast on the lips. She kissed him as hard as she could, pressing herself against him. Then, against her will, she felt him slow down the kiss, until he was giving she short chaste kisses instead of long passionate ones. Eventually he kissed her lightly on the forehead, smiled and leaned back to watch the film. Kelsi sighed. Not tonight then…

* * *

_**Ryan**_

"Well goodnight." Kelsi said as Ryan led her to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah! In the evening? If you don't mind looking for jobs again?" Ryan checked.

Kelsi nodded but something in her features looked slightly… sad?

"Sounds good." Kelsi said simply, before giving him a short kiss. "I love you."

"Love you too." Ryan grinned back.

The minute the door shut behind her Ryan let out a long sigh of relief. He had been glad to have some time alone with her but, with his stance on pressuring her as little as possible, it had been difficult. First she had come in wearing that ridiculously short dress (he'd always had a thing for her legs), then the tantalising kisses, not to mention she'd practically been sitting on his lap all evening. Ryan shook his head. She probably didn't even know she was doing it, he knew she wanted to take things slow, but it had been torture not to act on it! But, Ryan commended himself, he hadn't. It had been hard, but he had stayed true to his word. Now he just had to figure out why she had looked sad…

_**Kelsi** _

"Aaaaaargh!" Kelsi flung the newsboy cap she'd been wearing to the floor in frustration.

"Hey what did that hat ever do to you?" Jen asked dryly from the sofa. Kelsi started in fright. She hadn't even seen Jen there.

"How difficult should it be to get a teenage boy to sleep with you?" Kelsi blurted out in anger, suddenly not bothered by how little she knew her room mate.

Jen's eyebrows disappeared under her mass of hair, but Kelsi ploughed on all the same.

"They're supposed to want it all the time and the minute you actually try and make it happen all they want to do is watch Fred Astaire! Is it me? Is it my lack of flirting power? Am I repulsive…"

"Wait, slow down." Jen said quickly, getting up from the sofa. But Kelsi's thoughts were tumbling fast and furious from her mind.

"I ask, is it easier with women?" she asked wildly, wringing her hands at Jen who looked at her in shock. "Do they just understand straight away. Does his stupid man brain not see what I'm trying to do here!"

"Ok, you need to calm down." Jen said seriously, pulling out a chair from the kitchen table, which Kelsi promptly slumped into. "I don't want to have to explain to Blondie that you're now a lesbian."

Despite her anger, Kelsi managed a small chuckle, then let her head fall into her hands.

"Why can't I do this?" she mumbled into her palms. She heard Jen shifting around awkwardly and suddenly felt very guilty for inflicting her outburst on her room mate that she barely knew. "Sorry Jen. I'm gonna go through and call…"

"He's… really nice."

"What?" Kelsi asked, looking up at Jen who was standing, arms folded and staring at the floor.

"Blondie. I mean, Ryan. He's… Well he's kinda cool. And he worries about you. So… yeah he's probably just worried about you." Jen mumbled, looking anywhere else in the room but at Kelsi.

Kelsi smiled. Intimate conversations were obviously difficult for Jen, but this was the most personal conversation they had ever had.

"Maybe." Kelsi said uncertainly.

"Well I don't think it's because you're repulsive." Jen said with a smirk.

"Ugh I've never been good at this." Kelsi whined, pushing her hands through her hair. Ryan's always the one that does this stuff. You know he pretty much demanded that I go to prom with him…" she said with a fond smile.

There was a pause, then Jen shrugged her shoulders.

"Well then it's simple." she said casually.

"It is?" Kelsi asked.

"Yeah. It's time for you to start making demands."


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello folks. Update time! Hoping to get some of my other stories up and running soon so hopefully I can post something in the next few days. Big thank you to _krfan_ for reviewing. Please keep writing, i love your stories!**

**Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Please review and let me know what you think :)**

* * *

_**Ryan**_

"Badada BOOM! Baadaa TSH! "

"Miiiitch." Ryan warned jokingly. "We've talked about this. My back is not a drum kit."

Mitch leapt from behind Ryan and grinned, holding his hand up for a high five.

"Miss me?" he asked cheekily as they walked down the corridor to their dorm.

"Cried myself to sleep." Ryan smirked sarcastically. "Just wasn't right without your late night practises, phone calls to mysterious women…"

"Hey I'm the one that's mysterious." Mitch reasoned as he let them into their room. "I had no idea just being a kiwi had so much pulling power!"

It was true. Anywhere Ryan and Mitch went, Mitch seemed able to get a girl's number in seconds. The conversation usually started with, "Oh my God I LOVE your accent!". Mitch's irresistible voice had become somewhat of an inside joke between him and Ryan.

"Yeah some of them popped round to see you last night and they just weren't interested in my standard American accent." Ryan sighed in mock disappointment.

"Wait, were there actually people looking for me?" Mitch asked, a look of panic washing over his features. Ryan sniggered and shook his head and Mitch gave a sigh of relief. As much as Mitch relished his 'pulling power', the girls that fell for him purely on his New Zealand accent weren't exactly girls he had much interest in… after one night.

"Unless you count Kelsi, but I think she might be immune to your accent." Ryan said confidently, going into the fridge and passing Mitch a soda.

"Oh yeah! Nice to have the place to yourselves I bet." Mitch said with a wink. Ryan nodded stiffly. Mitch noticed the change and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he said slowly. Ryan was about to brush off the comment and then reconsidered. Sure, Mitch permanently wanted to joke around, but he was fast becoming a good friend of Ryan's. Ryan had never really had a close male friend. Sure he got on well with the other wildcats, but they only really hung out in a group setting. He kind of wanted someone to talk to about this stuff. Guy stuff.

"Me and Kelsi haven't slept together yet." Ryan said lightly, opening his soda. Mitch raised his eyebrows but just nodded in understanding.

"I'm a bit more experienced than her…" Ryan began, searching for how best to explain himself.

"So naturally, you want to make sure she's… ok." Mitch said, in a surprisingly serious tone.

"Yeah exactly!" Ryan said. "But last night. She was… Well… Kind of all over me to be honest and I played it cool because… Well like I said, I don't want to push her y'know." Ryan rambled. "I thought I was being the nice guy but truth me told, she looked a bit weird when she left."

"Weird?" Mitch asked with a frown.

"Sort of… sad. And annoyed." Ryan said, throwing his arms up in bewilderment. To his surprise, Mitch started to laugh.

"What?"

"Mate, maybe you assume too much." Mitch grinned.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked, then impatiently waited while Mitch took a long gulp of his soda, followed by a loud burp.

"Well, she may have less experience… but maybe she wants to go there! Have you considered that that's what she was going for last night?" Mitch asked, with an amused grin.

"I did…" Ryan admitted. "But… God I just really don't want to make her uncomfortable or…"

"Just talk to her man!" Mitch said, slapping Ryan on the back and turning to go to his room. "I got the impression that she was pretty special." he teased.

"Yeah." Ryan murmured to himself as Mitch's door closed behind him. "She is pretty special." 

* * *

Ryan stood outside Kelsi's door. He'd been standing there for at least five minutes. It was getting a bit embarrassing really. Any time another student walked along the hallway, Ryan had leaned against the wall and pretended to text on his phone. As if that made his loitering look any less odd… His decision to go downstairs and speak to Kelsi had been spontaneous, meaning he had literally texted her to say he was coming over, showered, dressed and left. He needed a minute to get his thoughts together. Frankly, she was going to start wondering what was taking so long. Ryan remembered Mitch's words from earlier.

_"I got the impression she was pretty special."_

Exactly. They weren't the same two people they had been a year ago. He wasn't a misfit that was under the thumb of his own twin sister and she wasn't the quiet pushover that strived to be invisible. He wasn't in high school, stumbling over his words and struggling to find a way to spend some time alone with the girl he had a crush on. He was an adult, in love with a woman. A woman who, miraculously, loved him back. He was going to knock on that woman's door and they were going to have an adult conversation about taking their relationship to the next level. His decision made, Ryan took a deep breath and knocked three time on the door.

"It's open!" a small voice called from inside.

Ryan made his way in slowly, his stomach in knots. Why was he nervous? This was Kelsi. His best friend. There was nothing to be nervous about. Then she appeared. There was a tanned leg first, creeping round the bathroom door, her foot creating a small, wet footprint on the floorboards. Then Ryan felt his pulse race as he took in the vision before him. Kelsi's petite figure was wrapped in a white fluffy towel, covering from just below her shoulders to halfway down her thighs. Her wet hair hung loosely around her shoulders, causing small beads of water to trickle down her collarbone and chest. Her face was flushed from the warmth of the shower, her lips red and full, her eyes, wide and sparkling without her glasses. Neither of them said anything for a second. Every nerve in Ryan's body was urging him to leap forward, but he felt unable to move, as if her gaze had rooted him to the spot and and all he could do was stare at her hungrily from afar. Kelsi, in turn, looked paralysed, like a deer in headlights. Then he saw her chest heave as she took a long, deep breath. As she exhaled, she gave him the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

"Hi." she said softly.

That was it. In two swift strides Ryan was by her side. He crushed her small body to his and pushed her against the dorm wall. Then she was everywhere. His hands knotted in her damp, sweet smelling hair as hers ran underneath his shirt and up and down his back, her nails scraping the skin gently. As Ryan moved his lips down to devour her neck, Kelsi let out a little gasp.

"I love you." he said raggedly, before letting out a low moan into her collarbone.

"I love you too." Kelsi murmured in reply.

Then to Ryan's surprise she pushed him away and roughly switched their positions. Pain shot up his back as his back connected sharply with the wall behind him but he barely noticed. And that was when the towel dropped...

_**Kelsi**_

Like any other morning, Kelsi felt the morning sunlight behind her closed eyelids, in that peaceful middle ground between asleep and awake. Kelsi smiled but kept her eyes closed for the minute. She was especially comfy today. Especially comfy and… warm. She felt something soft brush against her bare stomach and gasped in alarm. Then she heard a little sleepy grunt from behind her and, as she looked down, a pair of strong pale arms pulling her tighter. Kelsi let out an involuntary squeal and instantly clamped her hand to her mouth. As stealthily as she could manage, Kelsi wriggled round to face Ryan. To her relief he still seemed deep in sleep, his lips slightly parted in a way that made him look almost childish, and so peaceful. Kelsi reminded herself to say thank you to Jen later. Firstly for suggesting that she appear out of the shower 'coincidently' when Ryan turned up at the dorm, and secondly for giving them the place to themselves. Kelsi had a feeling this would make them closer. There were some things that people were unable to go through without becoming friends on the other side and Kelsi liked to think that helping your room mate seduce their boyfriend was one of them. Unable to resist anymore, Kelsi kissed Ryan on one flushed cheek. His lips pulled back into a smile.

"Morning." he said groggily. Then his smile turned mischievous as his eyes flicked open. "That was an interesting noise earlier by the way…"

"You were awake?!" Kelsi exclaimed, assuming he meant her ridiculous squeal. She felt her face flush with embarrassment and pretended to wriggle out of his arms in protest. Ryan held on though and pulled her in tighter so they were nose to nose. She stopped struggling. Ryan, looking quite smug that he had won, dipped his head and gave her a slow, sweet kiss. Kelsi kissed him back, hoping with all her might that time would stop, just for a moment. To her disappointment, when they pulled apart, Ryan's eyes fell on the alarm clock beside her bed.

"I know it's the weekend…" Ryan said slowly, nervously gaging her reaction.

"But you need to get out and look for a job." Kelsi sighed sleepily, stroking his face with her fingertips sadly.

"Come with me?" Ryan asked hopefully. Kelsi gave him an exaggerated sigh and shook her head.

"Sorry." she said mockingly. "I already have two jobs."

"You're so mean." Ryan whispered with a pout. "But it's ok."

"Because you love me." Kelsi grinned leaning in to kiss him.

"No. Well yeah… But this time it's because I can do this."

Ryan abruptly rolled over away from her stealing all the duvet. The chill from her open bedroom window instantly hit her and she shrieked.

"No! No Ryan please! I'm freezing!" she protested, trying to steal the cover back.

"Aaaah great now I'm really warm." Ryan teased her, making a cocoon for himself in the covers.

"I'll help you, I'll help you!" Kelsi giggled, giving in. Ryan smirked in triumph, pulling her under the covers once again and kissing her tenderly. They lay there for a moment in silence, facing each other, their foreheads resting together.

"It's not as weird as I thought it would be." Kelsi whispered.

"What?" Ryan asked softly.

"Being naked. With you." Kelsi said shyly. It was true. She had expected to be embarrassed and self conscious, but she didn't at all. If she was honest, she was too busy looking at him to consider that she was wearing nothing as well.

"It could never be weird." Ryan grinned. He looked her up and down. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Kelsi stared at him. The way he said it was so… casual. So genuine. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world and hadn't just made her heart stop beating for a second.

"You shouldn't look so surprised." Ryan said with a soft laugh, kissing the tip of her nose.

Kelsi smiled and took this as license to look at Ryan for a minute. The sun was glistening on his dishevelled blonde hair, giving him a sort of angelic look. She ran her hands delicately down his pale, toned torso, feeling the defined muscle under her fingertips. As she did this, she watched in amusement as the light blonde hairs on his arms stood up. There was something so wonderfully vulnerable about the fact that they both lay unclothed next to one another. It felt very trusting. Close. Like they could see into each other's souls. The best part was his eyes and she saved them for last. His eyes, so wide and blue, always looked innocent and almost childlike. This morning was no different. They were bright and alert and searching Kelsi curiously, eagerly trying to decipher why she was looking him over so closely.

"You're perfect." she said decidedly, snuggling closer to him.

"That's what the analysis was for?" Ryan asked jokingly.

"No! Of course I… Sorry." Kelsi said quickly, feeling a blush reddening her cheeks. "Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No." Ryan said with a grin. "Quite the opposite. You look like the cat that got the cream."

"Modest." Kelsi said, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Flattered." Ryan corrected her with a smile. He glanced back over at the clock. "Ok, I really need to get up."

With the energy that only Ryan Evans seemed to possess, he sprung out of bed and began pottering around the room, collecting his clothes. Kelsi hitched herself up to rest on her elbow and watched him get ready. She hadn't been lying. He did look perfect. Of course, from being a dancer, he naturally had a good figure, but it wasn't just his physique. As long as Kelsi could remember, even before they really knew each other, Ryan had always had an aura about him. A charisma that shone in everything he did. Though, now that she was head over heels in love with him, that probably had a lot more to do with why she couldn't stop staring at him. Ryan was in his boxers and halfway through putting a sock on when he looked up at her. To Kelsi's delight, he was blushing! Actually blushing! Not quite as red as one of her award winning blushes, but pretty close.

"Ok, the staring is making me a bit self conscious now." Ryan said shyly. Kelsi decided to just say what was on her mind.

"Ryan… Last night. It was…"

Before she knew it he had swooped down to kiss her intensely, pushing her back against the bed and pinning her beneath him.

"I love you." Ryan said huskily, clasping her face between his hands.

"I love you too." Kelsi whispered back, before claiming his lips again.

_**Ryan**_

"I'm going to be the best waiter ever."

"Ok slow down, you haven't even had your first day yet."

"How hard can it be? Don't you just… carry stuff."

Kelsi looked up at him sceptically from under the brim of her hat.

"It's a very fast-paced and stressful job. I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into." she warned him, a smile creeping onto her face. Ryan had a sneaky suspicion that the idea of him waiting tables amused her. He had finally found a job at a French Restaurant called 'C'est Bon'. He may had told a little white lie to the owner about his waiting experience, but he figured it couldn't be too difficult.

"You'll see." he said childishly sticking his tongue out at her.

Kelsi laughed in reply, then Ryan saw something catch her eye ahead. They were in the opening courtyard of the Julliard Campus and Jen was walking towards them. Then the strangest exchange took place. Jen looked at Kelsi, then at him, then at Kelsi again. Kelsi gave the girl a conspiratal smile which Jen returned. As they passed each other they said nothing, but Jen lifted her hand up and Kelsi slapped her palm in a high five. Once Jen was a measurable distance away, Ryan looked down at his girlfriend. she looked back at him innocently.

"What was that about?" he asked suspiciously.

"Girl stuff." she replied with a sweet smile. 

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you guys think :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello friends! Sorry it's been a while. I've been on holiday in Amsterdam. Lots of bikes, lovely beer, good times were had. Anyway... now don't kill me... this chapter doesn't focus on Kelsi and Ryan. I actually decided to focus on what is going on back home in New Mexico. I'll try and follow quickly with some Ryan and Kelsi goodness soon but I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless! **

**krfan, eclaregurl, musicrules1923. Thank you, you sweet people! Eclaregurl, there WILL be more to this story. I'm super addicted to it ha! And thank you to anyone else who is reading. Please review. I love to hear your thoughts and it's always good to know what is well (or not so well) received.  
**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Sharpay**_

Meanwhile in Albuquerque….

Sharpay halted outside the gym doors. She looked behind her and only saw an empty corridor. Confident that she was alone, she allowed herself to stop and take a deep breath. Since before she could remember, Sharpay had known that making an entrance was one of the most important things she could do. That first impression, that first glimpse of YOU would forever influence how you were perceived. It was unfair really. First impressions weren't always the best representation of a person. But life wasn't fair, and that was the way people's minds worked. Her next class today was Body Conditioning, which she assumed was to keep her in shape for the dance aspect of her course. However, she had overheard someone mention that it wouldn't just be the performing arts students involved. There would be students from other meant that any work she had put into creating the perfect first impression this week, could be undone if she didn't walk through these doors right. Sharpay quickly checked her outfit. Pink tank top. White 'hot pant' style gym shorts. Matching gym socks and pink sneakers. Hair in a neat but stylish ponytail. Waterproof make up applied.

Satisfied, Sharpay threw the doors open with a flourish and strutted into the gym. The people she knew so far, or at least most of them, greeted her enthusiastically. If they didn't, their heads at least turned. This was important. It showed the students that didn't know her that she was someone worth knowing. After introducing herself to a few people, Sharpay took a place in the middle of the gym and started to gently stretch in preparation for class.

"Ice queen?"

Sharpay's eyes widened as she heard a familiar voice and the nickname that she hadn't heard since high school. Turning sharply to her right she found herself face to face with none other than Chad Danforth.

"What are YOU doing here?!" she hissed, all sense of decorum vanishing. A few heads turned at her sharp tone but she paid them no mind.

"Frosty as ever Sharpay." he smirked, tying a colourful bandana round his head to pull his hair back.

"I know you're not the biggest basketball fan but we kinda need to stay in shape…"

"But…" Sharpay began, fumbling for words.

"But?" Chad asked, his eyebrows raised in question.

_ But I'm reinventing myself and I don't want people from the past, especially people I find especially irritating, getting in the way!_

"Nothing." Sharpay said cooly. "I just didn't realise players of that moronic game were quite as athletic as dancers…"

Chad let out a short laugh, as if he was humouring her.

"Ok I'll level with you Sharpay. After seeing Ryan dance, I'll admit you've got to be in good shape. But the only exercise I've ever seen you get is when the mall has a sale."

Sharpay smirked, folded her arms and faced the basketball player head on. She sometimes forgot that, due to the show she put on daily, even people she had known throughout high school… didn't REALLY know her.

"Oh you have no idea who you're dealing with." she said softly.

"Oh ice queen… I am the LAST person you want to compete against." Chad grinned, taking a similar stance. Sharpay noticed how much he towered over her, but she was undeterred.

"Really?" Sharpay said slyly, as the music for their workout began.

"You've forgotten that I don't like to lose Danforth."

* * *

_**Chad**_

"Maybe we should just call it a draw…"

"No!" they barked in unison.

The fitness instructor was met with two identical glares and backed off warily. Chad and Sharpay were currently locked in a contest to see who could hold the plank position the longest. Their instructor had presented it as a fun, competitive way to end the class and hadn't anticipated that, five minutes after the class was scheduled to finish, she would have two students still balanced on their elbows and feet, unwilling to give in. Chad glanced over at Sharpay slyly. She was dripping in sweat, her usually fluffy blonde hair flat and sticking to her face, but other than that she was showing no signs of tiring soon. To his annoyance she caught his eye and smirked.

"Getting tired jock? Hoping I'll drop soon?"

"I can hold this all day princess." he snarled back, though he could feel his forearms shaking. Chad couldn't stand the thought of losing to ANYONE. Let along, Sharpay Evans. How did she get so strong anyway?!

_Probably from carrying that ego around all day._ Chad thought, trying not to laugh at his own joke.

"Laugh if you want." Sharpay said sweetly, evidently noticing his amused expression. "I'm not moving."

"That's it! Get them up."

Chad yelped as someone lifted him from behind and set him on his feet. He was about to call out in protest when he saw that Sharpay had been picked up at the same time.

"Oh c'mon! I had that in the bag!" Sharpay snapped up at their instructor.

The woman taking the class was lean, tanned and formidably tall. Chad was sure she was the same coach who taught volleyball at East High. This didn't seem to deter Sharpay however and she stubbornly glared up at her.

"We can't stay here all night." the instructor said with a shrug before dismissing them. Sharpay narrowed her eyes and glared at the instructor's retreating back but then, with a flick of her hair, stalked off the court.

"Hey Chad, how d'you know barbie?" Chad turned to see a group of his team mates looking at him inquisitively.

"She's dating one of my friends." Chad said with a shrug.

"No she isn't." Sharpay said airily as she swept past him.

Chad frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to say something, but she was already strutting out of the gym. Chad just gritted his teeth and stalked over to the bleachers to pick up his bag. If she wanted to be annoyingly cryptic then so be it. He was hardly going to be seen running down the hallways after Sharpay…

As he and his team mates left college for the day, he put her whole existence out of his mind. He had only known the guys on the team for a week, so they were still a bit polite and professional around each other, but they were gelling well. To be honest, this was more important to Chad. He had four years to make friends but they had a game in a couple of months. His first priority was that they worked as a team. Luckily the baseball game at the weekend would help with that. A guy on the team called Mike was a West High graduate and had suggested a friendly baseball game between East High and West High alumni. He had even hinted that it could be a regular thing, to help keep in touch with friends from high school. Hopefully it would be a good way of breaking the ice with his new classmates, and it would give him a chance to catch up with Jason and Martha who had agreed to join the East High team.

As they exited the building everyone groaned. Despite the fact that they were in New Mexico and that it had been blazing sunshine all day, the heavens had opened. Chad looked down at his basketball shirt in despair. He was going to have to walk home… in this?!

"Catch you Saturday?" Mike asked, yelling over a loud rumble of thunder.

"Yeah. Hopefully the weather's better than this." Chad replied with a grimace.

He gave his team mates a sullen wave as they went their separate ways then sighed, silently regretting lending his car to his older brother that morning.

_Yeah of course I don't mind. It's nice out. I can walk today._Chad remembered irritably as he marched out into the storm, wrapping his bare arms around himself for warmth. He was halfway across the parking lot when he heard the loud beep of a horn. He turned to see a bright pink convertible, roof up of course, pulling up next to him. Sharpay was looking at him dryly but she inclined her head as a signal that he should get in. Chad met her gaze for a few seconds. His eyes flitted to the car, taking in its abrasive colour. He shook his head stubbornly and walked on. There was no way he was going home in Sharpay's PINK car. Absolutely not.

"Don't be a moron Danforth! You'll get hypothermia in this." Sharpay was driving alongside him with her window rolled down.

"I'd rather g-get c-cold than g-get in that stupid p-pink… Aaaaah!" Chad cried out as he felt little stabs of pain all over his shoulders. He looked up at the sky and cursed. Hailstones. Great.

"GET. IN. Your hair's a state."Sharpay snapped.

Seeing no other choice, Chad stomped around to the passenger side of Sharpay's car and climbed in.

"Don't move." Sharpay ordered as she rummaged around in her gym bag. Chad stayed still, though he was horribly conscious of how much he was dripping, until Sharpay produced a towel and handed it to him.

"Thanks." he muttered, taking the towel gratefully and beginning to dry his hair.

"Try not to get water everywhere." Sharpay said stiffly.

"Sure. My house is…"

"I know where it is. From Taylor's… thing." Sharpay replied.

Of course. Chad had held a small gathering at his house before Taylor had left to go to Yale. Sharpay had turned up briefly with Zeke. From what Chad could remember, she had been nice enough, taking the time to say good luck to Taylor, but she had left soon after. 'She misses Ryan I think', was what Zeke had said when Chad had asked about her early departure.

"Oh yeah." Chad said awkwardly. They drove in silence through the heavy rain, the only sound the squeak of the windscreen wipers. Chad grappled for something, anything, to say that would break the silence.

"How'd you get so strong?" he eventually blurted out.

"Shopping." Sharpay said with a shrug.

"Oh… right." Sharpay burst out laughing.

"Seriously? You thought I beat you from all my shopping."

"Ok first of all, you didn't beat me. We drew." Chad said seriously. "And secondly… If I shopped the way you do, I'd probably be twice as strong as I am now!" To his surprise, Sharpay let out a little giggle at his remark.

" If you must know, Ryan isn't the only one how played baseball back in Rhode Island." she said with a grin. Chad raised his eyebrows.

"Baseball? Impressive! How come I didn't know that?"

"Well my competitive nature is more suited for the stage I think." she replied with a roll of her eyes.

Chad looked at her curiously. Sure, the ice queen had a bad reputation, but she'd just done him a massive favour. She wasn't actually the worst company in the world and judging by what Zeke had said, she was probably a bit lonely. Speaking of which, he was curious about why she'd denied dating Zeke earlier. Was she just being obnoxious? Surely Zeke would have mentioned if they were off again…

"There's a baseball game this weekend y'know." Chad said casually.

"So?" Sharpay said dismissively.

Chad felt a stab of annoyance at her rudeness but persisted.

"Well it's East High versus West High, graduates." he said hastily. "Jason and Martha are playing and…" Chad was interrupted by a snigger from Sharpay.

"Chad… I don't play baseball NOW. On top of all my classes I have a drama department to run so your little game isn't exactly my top priority."

That stung. He'd turned a blind eye to her hostility and had tried to include her in something and she had thrown it in his face! Despite the fact that he was in her car, receiving a favour, he gave her a dark look.

"Ok. My apologies. I just thought you might want to actually see some of the people you graduated high school with." he shot at her spitefully.

"You can live in the past if you want to Danforth but I'M trying to reinvent myself…"

Suddenly her earlier comment about Zeke made sense, and Chad didn't like it one bit.

"Aaah speaking of the past. How is Zeke these days?" he spat, glaring at her.

He instantly saw the comment hit home. Her features softened and her bottom lip trembled a little. She braked hard and for a minute Chad thought she was going to chuck him out the car. Then he noticed they had arrived at his house. She sat in silence and Chad instantly felt guilty. Even if she was a pain in the ass, and possibly messing around one of his friends, if it wasn't for her he'd have had a long, wet walk home.

"Sorry I…"

"Whatever. I'll see you around." Sharpay said airily. Her face was impassive.

"Thanks a lot for the ride." Chad mumbled, feeling horribly awkward as he let himself out the car. He halted just outside the car and Sharpay looked at him questioningly.

"The game's at 2pm this Saturday. You should come." Chad muttered.

He slammed the car door before she could retort and ran inside.

* * *

_**Sharpay**_

"Hi it's me. Again. Look Sharpay, whatever you feel, whether you want to see me anymore or not, can you at least speak to me in person? I think you owe me that much. I came by your house yesterday. You were… out. I left some cookies with your mom. Please call me."

Sharpay hung up, cutting off her voicemail, and stared fixedly ahead. Her eyes pricked and she blinked a few times. She hadn't been out. Their family butler James had answered the door and made an excuse for her. To be honest, Zeke probably knew that was the case.

_"It's for the best." _ Sharpay thought determinedly. She was starting fresh after all. It would be better for him too. Surely he needed to be focusing on his studies. How could he do that and drive through to Albuquerque to see her every other evening? It hadn't been serious anyway. They weren't ever official and it was HIGH SCHOOL for christ's sake. He'd forget. He'd get the hint eventually.

_"It's been two weeks."_ She thought to herself anxiously. Two weeks she'd been ignoring his calls. Five boxes of untouched cookies piled up in the kitchen.

"What team!" The shout interrupted Sharpay's thoughts. Her eyes automatically darting in the direction it had come from, she saw that she was walking past the Baseball diamond. A glance at her phone told her it was quarter past 2 and the game would be beginning soon. Through the fence she could make out Chad, Martha, Jason and other players in red shirts, gleefully shouting the traditional East High chant. When they finished they all cheered and jumped up and down. She saw Chad high-fiving his team mates and Jason kissing Martha on the cheek before she ran off to pitch. Sharpay tore her face away and quickened her walk. Joining the wild cats would be the opposite of making a fresh start. It would be a step back. If they had heard from Zeke recently then they probably wouldn't want her there anyway. She marched past, intent on getting her manicure. Anything to put her out of this foul mood. And forget those cookies…

* * *

"Hey sis! What's up?"

Sharpay automatically smiled at the sound of her brother's cheerful voice. Then she cleared her throat to recite the little speech she'd prepared in her mind.

"Oh everything! I'm crazy busy but I'm just on my way back from a manicure so I thought I'd give my favourite twin a call." she said, trying to forcibly sound upbeat. "What's happening with you?"

"Actually, I just got a job! Just in a restaurant but hey it's something…"

"You know mom and dad will give you money." Sharpay commented, rolling her eyes in spite of the fact that Ryan couldn't see her.

"Yeah I know but I can't lean on them forever. I want to be… independent y'know?" her brother replied, his tone light.

"Have you spoken to anyone from school?" Sharpay asked abruptly. There was a pause on the other end and Sharpay cursed herself internally. Ryan definitely knew something was wrong.

"I think it's a great idea that you hang out with people from East High." Ryan said, and Sharpay could almost see him grinning.

"That's not the question I asked." she growled irritably. As much as she loved her twin brother, his ability to read her mind could be exceptionally annoying.

"Yes it was." Ryan said confidentely. Sharpay opened her mouth to deny it, then found she had no words to defend herself.

"You're irritating today." she snapped. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Let me know how it goes." Ryan said cheerfully before hanging up.

Sharpay glared at her phone for a minute. He could be so annoyingly smug sometimes. Twin or not he wasn't right all the time. Sure, she couldn't think of an example where he's got it wrong at the moment but surely…

Sharpay's thoughts were cut short as she heard a loud cheer. She turned and let out a huff of annoyance as she found herself beside the baseball diamond again. Intending to walk right on by, she quickened her pace. Then her curiosity got the better of her. Was the cheer for East or West High? Peeking through the fence, Sharpay stole a look at the score board. Judging by East High's pitiful score, the cheer had NOT been for their team. The group in red huddled together, perhaps to change strategy or inspire some motivation. Sharpay caught look of one of her newly manicured nails and suddenly considered what she was doing. Shaking her head as if to clear it she began to walk away. As if she could play ball straight after a manicure…

"If only Ryan wasn't in New York!" Sharpay automatically turned as she heard her last name and saw Chad, Martha and Jason share a laugh.

"Yeah Evans would be pretty useful right now…"

* * *

**Chad**

"Well 'Evans' is here!"

Chad saw Jason and Martha's eyes widen before he processed what was happening. Then he turned and saw the last thing he had expected to see today. Sharpay, already kitted out in shorts, vest and sneakers. She even had a baseball cap on. Her face, although still haughty looking, was defiant.

"You… play?" Jason said tentatively, shooting Chad a questioning glance. Chad met his gaze and nodded.

"Yeah. Apparently she's quite the player." he said with a grin. He had no idea how well Sharpay played, but he knew she wasn't someone to lose without a fight.

"Cool!" Martha chirped. "Nice cap Sharpay!"

"Thanks! It's gucci." Sharpay replied enthusiastically. "I got it in the sales last spring. I mean, Ryan's the twin with the hats but I figured it would help in the sun."

"Yeah tell me about it! My skin's terrible in the sun. And of course my moisturiser's useless…"

"You know what you should use? There's a great…"

"Girls!" Chad cut in abruptly. "Loving the team bonding but we have a game to save." Both girls looked at him sheepishly and nodded.

"Head in the game." Jason nodded. "Can you pitch?" he added to Sharpay, holding out the baseball and mitt to her. Sharpay looked at him for a few seconds then erupted into a fit of giggles. Jason looked at Chad in confusion but he just shrugged in reply. He was just as puzzled...

"Can i pitch?!" she gasped between giggles, snatching the ball and mitt from Jason. "Please…" With that she strutted towards the mound to pitch. Chad smirked. Only Sharpay Evans would walk across a baseball diamond as if it was a catwalk.

"Are you sure she's gonna be ok?" Martha murmured astray followed her. "The ground's pretty filthy…"

"I don't get dirty when I'm playing." Sharpay quipped casually

"Well everyone gets a little but of dirt on them when they play baseball." Jason laughed.

"I don't." Sharpay said sweetly as she got into position. "Ok, now you have an extra player we can cover more positions. Martha, you move to that spot there. Jason further to your left…"

"Jason's pretty fast." Chad cut in. "Maybe he can go further up the field."

"Good call." Sharpay said with a nod. As the the two of them continued putting the players into position and discussing strategy, he noticed that the rest of the team were quite happy to go along with their suggestions. Sharpay wasn't coming across as bossy, she just seemed to be effortlessly leading the group. In fact both of them seemed to be leading together.

"Perfect!" Sharpay squealed, looking around at the players' formation. "They're going down!" she called to the rest of the team who cheered in response. C

had laughed to himself and got into position. This was going to be interesting…

* * *

"You were right." "I'm always right." Chad rolled his eyes in response but carried on. "You can pitch." he said, holding out a hand for Sharpay to shake. She shook it firmly and Chad was sure he saw a glint of pride in her eyes.

"AND she didn't get dirty!" Martha exclaimed as she bounded over to them. "How did you do that?" Martha pointed to herself and Chad had to laugh. Martha's trainers and knees were caked in mud. Sharpay, true to her word, didn't have s peck of dirt on her.

"Practice," Sharpay said cheekily with a grin.

"We won!" Martha was suddenly engulfed in a hug from Jason.

"Yeah thanks for helping us out. " Martha added to Sharpay. "You saved the game."

Chad looked at the blonde girl curiously as she shrugged off Martha's comment. What had brought her to the game in their eleventh hour?

"Right, Marco's. Now!" Martha said, dragging Jason along by the hand.

"Ice-cream?" Jake, one of the other guys on the East High team said reluctantly.

"Martha's preferred method of celebrating." Jason explained, smiling fondly at the girl hanging off his arm. The rest of the team looked a little unconvinced.

"I promise, it's the BEST ice-cream you've ever tasted." Martha said excitedly, fearlessly addressing the group. "We've been running around all afternoon. Could you really say no to a cold, strawberry sundae?" As usual, Martha's enthusiasm was contagious. A couple of the girls, that Chad understood attended her dance class, latched onto her arms and the boys simply shrugged and followed. Chad joined the group, agreeing that ice-cream was the perfect reward, and looked behind for Sharpay. She was in her own world, texting at lightning speed.

"Ice-cream?" he asked, trying to sound as friendly as he could. She shook her head.

"No thanks. Ice-cream's for when I'm sad." she said bluntly. However, she proceeded to follow the group out the gate. "My house is on the way though. I suppose I could walk with you."

"What an honour." Chad said walked alongside her nonetheless. As silent an unsociable as she was being, it would still be rude to join the others in front and leave her to walk on her own.

"So... no ice-cream means you had a good time with us then?" he asked in an effort to break the ice. She gave him a long dry look.

"I was just saving your asses." she said cooly. Chad nodded but felt that he was starting to see the flaws in Sharpay's little facade.

"So you just… happened to walk by." Chad said. Sharpay looked at him sharply and showed him the back of her hand.

"I was on my way back from a manicure." she said snidely as she wiggled her fingers. Sure enough, on closer inspection her nails looked perfectly manicured.

"Strange that you walked." he continued, trying to keep his face innocent.

"Car's out of gas." she shot back, not missing a beat.

"Don't you have a driver…"

"It's his day off." Chad nodded again, deciding to humour her. If he didn't she would probably just march away. It was more fun to corner her this way.

"It's lucky you were already wearing shorts and sneakers." Chad said lightly, looking her up and down. "Really lucky…"

"Sneakers are in this season." Sharpay snapped. Chad bit his lip to stop laughing. She was attempting to keep a cool exterior but her eyes were flashing in anger.

"Oh do sneakers come in and out of fashion, that's funny…"

"I didn't HAVE to help you." Sharpay hissed and made to cross the street. The group ahead heard the commotion and turned to see what was going on. Chad caught an accusing glare from Martha and realised he might have taken the goading a little far. He quickly grabbed Sharpay's wrist.

"My house is right there…"

"Ok… Well… Just a minute!" he insisted as Sharpay tried to wriggle away.

"Look I'm sorry I was just having some fun…"

"Yeah I'm having the time of my life." Sharpay spat, though she stopped trying to walk away. Her eyes looked a little hurt and Chad instantly felt guilty.

"I actually thought we made a good team." Chad said sincerely. Sharpay looked at him closely, as if trying to determine if he was being serious or not.

"Yeah." she said eventually, with a curt nod. "Though I think it could be put to better use than a baseball game…"

Chad watched in confusion as Sharpay seemed to drift off into her own world. He scanned her face for clues but found none.

"I'm lost." he admitted. She snapped back to reality and smiled slyly.

"I feel the beginnings of a scheme."

"A… what?"

"I'll explain at school." she said brightly. "Toodles!"

With that Sharpay Evans strutted across the street, briefly waggling her fingers in farewell to the rest of the group. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he was sure he'd find out soon enough...


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi folks! You'll be happy to know that we are back in New York with Ryan and Kelsi again! And it's Halloween! The part about 'aerial dance' is a bit random but I promise it will have some significance later! I started taking silk and trapeze classes this year so maybe I'm just a bit obsessed. Who knows! This one is quiiite dialogue heavy. I'm not sure if it's really as well written as some of the previous chapters. If anyone had feedback on this then geez it! (Non-Scottish translation = Please give me it)**

**Anyhoo, thank you again for reading and reviewing. Special shout out to the lovely guest that went to the effort of reviewing. A great example that you don't need to be a member to comment on a story :) Please do review. Good/Bad feedback is ALWAYS useful!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

_**Kelsi**_

**My pay-check cleared! Dinner tonight before the party. I'll come down and get you in an hour. Can't wait to see your costume ;) Love you! xxx**

Kelsi grinned down at her phone. One of these days she was going to insist that Ryan actually ASKED her on a date rather than just telling her a time, but she wasn't complaining. It was Halloween and Ryan had spotted a restaurant in the city that was offering three courses for the price of one if the customers came dressed up. It was still quite pricey though and it had all depended on Ryan's unpredictable boss clearing the money in time. Dom was planning to host a Halloween party in her dorm later on and Kelsi had a feeling it was going to be a bit of a mad night...

Suddenly excited, Kelsi leapt over to her wardrobe and dug around for her costume. Ryan was paying for the meal not just because old habits die hard but because she was also worryingly low on funds. Therefore, she had opted to make a Halloween costume herself rather than buy an expensive one in the city. Using one of her old dresses and a pile of glitter, she had managed to fashion a twinkly woodland fairy costume. It wasn't the most original idea, and with a mom and brother in the art industry it seemed a bit pathetic, but frankly she was thankful to have had the resources to do anything at all. She squeezed into the outfit and had a look in the mirror and was surprisingly pleased with the result. A complete costume for under ten dollars! All she needed was her wings, which were currently drying on the kitchen table, then she could start on her make-up...

"Hi Jen." Kelsi chirped as she entered their common area. "Have you seen my… Jen?"

Her small room mate was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. She was wearing a white ripped T-shirt, blue shorts and was painted green all over. Kelsi also noted that the purple in her hair was gone and instead it was black all over. It wasn't any of these things that concerned Kelsi though. Jen's back was to her, but she seemed to be hugging her knees to her chest. She turned to face Kelsi and she could see where tears had made tracks through the paint on her face.

"Jen… what…"

"I'm the hulk." Jen replied, her voice thick from crying. She gave Kelsi a glum look and lifted her fist half-heartedly into the air. "Hulk smash…"

"I… I know." Kelsi replied, approaching her tentatively. "I was going to ask what was wrong."

Jen scowled and rubbed her eyes, smudging the paint around her eyes. If she hadn't looked so upset Kelsi would have laughed. She looked like some sort of green panda in reverse. Instead she crouched down next to her and gingerly put a hand on her shoulder.

"I thought you were seeing Laina." Kelsi stated, hoping that this wasn't too intrusive. Jen just nodded, a few more tears falling from her eyes. Without another thought Kelsi hugged the girl close, not caring about the green paint that was likely to rub off on her. Jen didn't hug back, but she rested her head against Kelsi's in what Kelsi could only hope was gratitude.

"She wasn't just someone you were sleeping with, was she." Kelsi said softly.

She couldn't see Jen's face now, but she felt her head shake and her body shudder with more tears. They sat like that for a few minutes as Jen let her tears flow freely. It wasn't necessary to speak. Jen wasn't a gushy person and Kelsi knew her room mate well enough by now to know she just needed someone there. Having said that, she felt like she had to do something. She couldn't just leave Jen there in the state she was in. Then it came to her. The one thing that makes EVERYONE feel better.

"What?" Jen muttered as Kelsi jumped to her feet.

"We're having a tea party. A Halloween tea party." she explained as she put the kettle on.

"The Hulk doesn't drink tea." Jen replied seriously, though Kelsi could see the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Oh yes he does."

* * *

_**Ryan**_

"Ta-da!"

"That. Is. Horrifying." Ryan said, looking at his room mate incredulously.

"I know!" Mitch replied gleefully. "Some of the acting students did it for me!"

That made sense. Apparently from using stage prosthetics and make-up, one half of Mitch's face looked like it had been torn off, showing what appeared to be a terrifying portrayal of exposed flesh and bone. In addition to this he had numerous gashes and stitches up his arms and he had even shaved half his head to add to the effect. Ryan wasn't particularly squeamish, but even looking at him was making him feel a bit sick…

"What are you supposed to be?" Mitch asked, looking at Ryan with a puzzled expression. At least, that's what Ryan thought his expression was. It was honestly hard to tell through all the gore…

"Ok forget the what. Maybe think 'who' I'm supposed to be…" Ryan said suggestively, pointing down at his outfit. Mitch stared at it for a few seconds then shook his head. Ryan tapped his umbrella on the floor for effect, but still nothing.

"No I still don't… You're just wearing a raincoat man."

"GENE KELLY. I'm Gene Kelly!"

"Oh… him."

"You don't know Gene Kelly." Ryan said disappointedly. Mitch shook his head guiltily and Ryan sighed. He knew his room mate had seemed to good to be true.

"He's in 'Singing in the Rain'."

"Hence the raincoat!" Mitch announced proudly, as if he had solved an exceptionally difficult problem.

"Hence the raincoat." Ryan said in despair, making his way to the door to leave. It never ceased to amaze him how some people had managed to get through life without having seen 'Singing in the Rain.'

"This isn't over. Next movie night is a Gene Kelly marathon…"

"Yeah whatever. Mind if I walk you downstairs? I want to show Kelsi the face." Mitch said excitedly. Ryan considered Mitch's frightening visage, his brow furrowing in concern. There was no doubt that his girlfriend would be terrified. However, it could also be hilarious…

"O.K." Ryan said slowly. "But don't expect any good feedback."

"Hopefully not!" Mitch replied cheerfully, strolling out the dorm with Ryan. They made their way down to Kelsi's dorm, but not without Ryan, and any other passers by, starting in alarm every time he so much as glanced at Mitch's horrific face. Kelsi was going to freak out…

"Don't be surprised if she throws something at you." Ryan warned as they approached her door.

"I can't wait to see her face." Mitch said eagerly, with a wicked grin that Ryan couldn't help but return. He had found a perfect partner in crime in Mitch. They knocked and waited with baited breath for an answer. There was no response. Ryan knocked again., this time a little harder. Still nothing. He suddenly realised that this felt familiar.

"It's open." said a small voice from inside." Ryan felt a jolt in his stomach from the memory. The last time this had happened, his girlfriend had been on the other side of the door in just a towel.

"I… I need to do something." Ryan stammered, looking wildly for an excuse to leave. "I'll come back later…"

"Nah man she needs to see the face!" Mitch grinned pushing the door open.

"Mitch, no!" Ryan wrung his hands in panic as he saw Mitch freeze in the door frame...

Then he realised what he was seeing. A fairy and the Incredible Hulk sat cross legged on a fluffy rug, with a large teapot, two mugs and a plate of biscuits between them. They both took one glance at Mitch's appearance and recoiled in horror. Kelsi, screamed loudly and covered her eyes. Jen just grimaced and said "Gross…". Ryan couldn't help notice that the make-up on her face was smudged and her voice sounded a little hoarse. Had she been crying?

"Weirdest tea party ever." Mitch murmured, his face, what they could see of it, completely bemused.

"Is it gone?" Ryan laughed at Kelsi's comment as she peeked through her fingers then instantly hid behind them again.

"Hey it's just me. Good old Mitch." Mitch joked, going over to Kelsi and flinging an arm round her, putting his scarily made up face right in her line of vision. Kelsi pulled her fingers away slowly. Ryan instantly burst out laughing at her expression as she took in Mitch's appearance. She looked like she was in pain.

"Tea for the monster?" Jen asked, a timid smile breaking through her mournful expression.

"Yes please!" Mitch replied, sitting himself down and helping himself to a biscuit. Ryan caught Kelsi's eye. One look told him that dinner could wait. They needed to be here.

"Tea for Gene?"

Ryan beamed at Jen as she held the teapot expectantly over a mug.

"You knew who I was!" he said ecstatically, nudging his way into the 'tea party'.

"Of course! What sort of idiot doesn't know who Gene Kelly is?" Jen replied as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ryan swung his head round to look accusingly at Mitch who let out an indigent "pfft!"

"You don't know who… Oh I don't know if Mitch is allowed to join the tea party." Kelsi said, giving him a look of mock disapproval. Though Ryan had a feeling that his scarily made-up face was the reason rather than his unfamiliarity with Gene Kelly.

"Oh great there's three of you." Mitch grumbled, ignoring this comment as he munched on a biscuit.

"He has agreed to watch 'Singing in the Rain' next time we watch a movie." Ryan added teasingly. "So he's off the hook."

"I don't remember actually agreeing to that…" Mitch replied with a frown, folding his arms stubbornly.

"Yeah Ryan doesn't exactly ASK people to do things." Kelsi quipped.

"Yeah!" Jen replied, her face a little brighter than before. "Apparently poor Kelsi was given no choice over who she was going to Senior prom with."

"Well it's never failed." Ryan grinned, catching Kelsi's eye. He saw her eyes flit to Jen then back to him. She didn't say anything, but he could read her expression.

_Thank you_

* * *

_**Kelsi**_

"So I'm pulling and PULLING these wild cat trousers Nothing's happening."

"Meanwhile my legs are pretty much burning."

"Then two of our friends just barge in and on of them says…"

"Oh, we'll just leave you two alone."

The group (or tea party) collapsed into laughter. Mitch comically choked on his tea and Jen gave him a big thump on the back. It was nearing midnight but no one had made a move to go to Dom's party. They had talked non stop since Ryan and Mitch had arrived and by this point they were pretty comfortable. Kelsi had even stopped wincing when she looked at Mitch's face! They hadn't moved from the floor, preferring to lounge in varying positions rather than move up to the table. Kelsi knew they were merely distracting Jen and that she wouldn't just cease hurting tonight, but she seemed a lot better for the moment. Kelsi didn't think she'd ever seen her room mate smile so much!

"How did you end up as the 'mascot' anyway?!" Mitch chuckled. "You're always telling me that dancers are athletes."

"Well someone convinced me it would be a good idea." Ryan said, giving Kelsi a mock glare.

"And he's TERRIBLE at basketball…" Kelsi murmured wickedly to Mitch who burst out laughing again. Ryan seemed completely unfazed. He just stuck his tongue out at Kelsi and sent a smirk Mitch's way.

"Well at least I get some exercise… Mitch. The minute you hit thirty you're going to have a heart attack…"

"Apparently I have a 'bad diet'" Mitch explained to the girls, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Bad diet doesn't cover it!" Ryan stressed. "You basically live on crisps and chocolate. I don't get why you're so skinny…"

"Drumming." Mitch said incredulously, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your drumming does look like a bit of a workout." Kelsi added fairly. Anything she had seen Mitch play in his and Ryan's dorm was so wild and fast-paced that his arms had seemed to blur. With his thin limbs and wild hair (though he planned to shave the other half of his head after tonight) he reminded Kelsi of 'Animal' from The Muppet Show.

"Right. Drumming." Ryan smirked, clearly unconvinced by this theory.

"Ok, one, if DANCING is a legit form of exercise then so is drumming. And TWO…" Mitch emphasised, as Ryan opened his mouth in protest. "…. We settled this with arm wrestles the other night so the argument isn't even valid."

"So you guys just sit in your dorm and arm wrestle." Jen grinned. "Gee you guys are cool…"

"You have tea parties, we arm wrestle." Mitch said with a shrug. "Anyway, Ryan won on the right side, but I'm left handed so I won on the left."

"Basically we're evenly matched." Ryan said.

"And THEREFORE drumming is a perfectly good way of exercising." Mitch concluded smugly.

"Do you do sport or dance or something?" Ryan abruptly asked Jen. She looked at him in surprise.

"Sort of…" she said slowly. "Why?"

"You look sort of… I don't know how to say it without sounding… I mean you're obviously…"

"Muscly." Mitch said bluntly. "'You know, like… broad."

Jen raised her eyebrows, her face a mixture of amusement and offence.

"No no no." Ryan said hastily. "Not… not BROAD. Just… sort of… strong."

Kelsi giggled as she watched the guys floundering, but she did see what they meant. The muscles in Jen's arms and shoulders were very defined. She seemed to have quite an athletic build (it wasn't hard for Kelsi to notice when Jen strolled around in her underwear half the time) and she had also noticed that she often left her dorm wearing gym clothes. She had never asked what for but she assumed she worked out a lot.

"Not in a butch way." Mitch added hurriedly. "Because, obviously not all lesbians are butch."

"That is NOT helping." Ryan muttered, giving Jen a pained look of apology. Kelsi watched in amusement as Jen smirked and waited patiently for them to be silent.

"It's ok, I know what you mean. Though you've got some SERIOUS word vomit." she added to Mitch who looked sheepish. "Seriously, you live in new York. You're going to get a punch in the face some day…"

"Maybe that'll teach him a lesson." Ryan sighed while Mitch nodded grimly in agreement.

"So… what do you do?" Kelsi asked, trying to get them back on track.

"Uuh yeah, I'm taking some aerial dance classes. You know, silks, trapeze, that sort of thing." she said casually. Kelsi looked at Ryan in confusion but he was beaming at Jen. She looked to Mitch who, to her relief, looked as clueless as her.

"That's amazing!" Ryan said enthusiastically. "No wonder you're so strong! Where do you do class?!"

"They run it at NYU, I'm surprised you don't know about it. A lot of the dance students here go."

"Is SOMEONE going to explain what this thing is?" Mitch cut in loudly. Kelsi nodded in agreement. Aerial… dance? Ryan and Jen shared a look, obviously unsure how to explain it.

"Maybe we should ask youtube."

Five minutes later, the four of them were crowded round Kelsi's laptop, watching a video of Jen's 'aerial dance'. Kelsi couldn't believe what she was watching. The video, which took place in what Kelsi assumed was the dance studio at NYU, involved Jen climbing a long strip of material (or 'the silk' as she called it) then doing a routine that involved wrapping the silk round her and holding her in various positions. Sometimes she rolled and tumbled towards the floor and caught herself at the last minute. It was exhilarating to watch! Every time she did one of these moves, Ryan, Kelsi and Mitch would let out little exclamations of fright before she caught herself an inch from the floor.

"This is amazing." Ryan breathed, fixated on the video. "You're really good." Kelsi added with a smile. It was a whole other creative side to her room mate that she hadn't seen before. Jen smiled back graciously.

"Jen… are you right or left handed?" Mitch asked as the video ended.

"Right handed." Jen said suspiciously.

"Great! Let's see if you can take Ryan!" Mitch said excitedly, bounding over to the kitchen table to make a space.

"Oh no, I'm not getting involved in your weird testosterone fuelled game." Jen laughed, holding her palms up in protest.

"Yeah I'm not arm-wrestling a girl." Ryan laughed.

Kelsi saw Jen's eyes flash and gulped. She and Jen still had a lot to learn about each other, but she knew her well enough to know that Jen would sensitive to that sort of comment. Ryan caught her eye at the same moment and fumbled for words.

"I mean…"

"Changed my mind Blondie. Let's go." Jen said determinedly, stalking over to the kitchen area and throwing her elbow down on the table and challenging him with her eyes. Mitch whooped and eagerly sat at the table to watch while Ryan positioned himself opposite Jen dejectedly.

"I'm about to be humiliated." he said to Kelsi in a low voice.

"You're an Evans." Kelsi reminded him with a small smile. Ryan searched her face nervously.

"That's literally all the advice you have for me isn't it?"

"Pretty much." Kelsi giggled. "Good luck!" She kissed his cheek lightly and sat down with Mitch, considering that this was the last thing she thought she'd be doing on her first Halloween in New York. Ryan placed his elbow on the table and reluctantly grasped Jen's hand. He looked at Jen apprehensively and she replied with a wicked grin that made Kelsi nervous FOR Ryan. She was sure she saw him gulp… Mitch counted them in and both their hand sensed at the same time, shaking in the centre of the table. Although both faces were scrunched up with the effort, their hands remained central with no one gaining the advantage. For the first minute or so, this was riveting and Kelsi and Mitch dutifully kept their eyes trained on the pair. However, ten minutes in it began to get a bit old…

"Maybe you draw?" Kelsi suggested timidly. She was trying to remain interested but it was getting late. Mitch wasn't even watching them anymore. He was slouched forward, his head resting face down on his arms. The odd soft snore told Kelsi he was nodding off. "No!" Ryan said in a strained voice.

"I can… I can beat her. She's tiring."

Kelsi took a look at Jen's face. Her hand was shaking, but, while Ryan's face was red and shining with sweat, her green face looked almost bored.

"I don't mind if we draw." Jen said with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah I bet." Ryan gasped, using his other hand to wipe his brow. Jen caught Kelsi's eye and what she did next made her realise that they would be good friends. Jen gave her a small smile and looked back to Ryan, letting her hand slowly fall under his.

"Aaaw man I just got too tired." Jen said with a sad shrug. "You win Blondie."

"What! What!" Mitch said suddenly,looking around blearily as his head snapped up from his arms.

"I… I do? I win?" Ryan looked at his released hand in confusion.

"Yeah, good match though." Jen smiled, holding out her hand to Ryan. Ryan shook it, but still looked a little perturbed. What he didn't see was the small wink that Jen sent her way. Kelsi wasn't sure if Mitch had noticed what was up or not but he cheered and clapped Ryan on the back anyway.

"Wow that was a bit too much tension. I'm knackered." he said, stretching and letting out a big yawn. "Coming?" he added to Ryan.

"Sure." Ryan pulled Kelsi over to him and gave her a soft kiss. "Thanks for having us over."

"Thanks for being here." Kelsi said sincerely, her words heavier than they seemed. One look in Ryan's eyes told her that he understood and was happy to have sacrificed their date to help out her friend.

"Congrats on the win Jen." Mitch said with a little salute.

"Yeah… What?" Ryan said, frowning.

"Thanks for coming over guys." Jen said quickly. "I really appreciate it. Who knew a tea party could make you feel better about being dumped." she said with a grimace. It was the first time Jen had mentioned what had happened in front of Ryan and Mitch but they just smiled kindly in response.

"Any time." Ryan said sincerely, before following Mitch out the door. Just before the door closed after him, he turned and mouthed 'I love you!' to Kelsi. She managed to quickly mouth a reply before the door closed behind him.

"Ugh, how am I going to get this paint off?" Jen exclaimed, looking down at herself in dismay.

"I'll tidy up in here." Kelsi offered as she grabbed the mugs from the floor. "You might need a long shower…"

Jen nodded and disappeared into her room. Kelsi continued to potter around the room, tidying up bits and pieces. Obviously a broken heart couldn't be fixed with one tea party, but for the moment, Jen looked at least a bit happier. They maybe didn't know each other that well, but in Kelsi's opinion, if they were living together it was their responsibility to look out for each other. She smiled as she remembered the water and painkillers Jen had left for her after her first college party. They were going to be fine. Jen emerged from her room again, towel in hand, but instead of going straight to the bathroom she made a beeline for Kelsi. Without saying anything she gave her a small tight hug. Kelsi was surprised but hugged the small girl back, happy to be a source of comfort. Jen pulled away then giggled.

"I got green on you." she grinned, before making her way into the bathroom.

Kelsi rubbed her cheek happily. Yes. They were going to be fine.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hi! sorry it's been a wee while guys. I may have got distracted and started writing a series of Rylsie oneshots... Which I'll hopefully post in the next few days! In this chapter, Ryan and Kelsi are heading home for Christmas. Ryan's boss 'Pierre' is based on my own boss in the French restaurant I waitress in. A formidable character! **

**Thank you again for reading and to everyone who reviewed! I promise reviews give me a kick in the ass to keep updating so keep em coming! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**_Kelsi_**

"Voila!" Jen announced with a flourish as she whipped the makeshift blindfold from Kelsi's eyes. Kelsi blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the light, then beamed at the sight in front of her. She was seated at the kitchen table, a huge fried breakfast steaming before her. She looked at her room mate, who was smugly pouring the tea, in awe.

"Best going away breakfast ever!" Kelsi grinned, grabbing her knife and fork.

"Well I couldn't let you go back to New Mexico for three weeks without making you one of my famous breakfasts." Jen smiled, pushing a mug of fresh tea towards her. Kelsi noted that the smile looked a bit forced.

"You know, if you wanted to come home with me for Christmas…"

"I'll be fine. Christmas in New York is phenomenal. Next year you'll be begging to stay with ME." Jen chuckled, digging into her own breakfast. Maybe it was Kelsi's imagination, or the fact that she couldn't comprehend being anywhere but with her family on Christmas, but there did seem to be an element of sadness buried somewhere under Jen's smile. When Kelsi had asked her where she would be spending Christmas she had been quite taken aback to learn that Jen had spent the last two Christmases alone in New York. All she had divulged was that she had done that ever since she had moved from her home town in Minnesota two years previously.

"And I'm not usually alone." she had stressed defensively. "I usually find some sort of party to go to… It's amazing how many loners you find on Christmas Day in New York."

Kelsi wasn't sure if that statement was supposed to make the whole thing sound less depressing or not, but either way she had immediately insisted Jen spend Christmas with her in Albuquerque. Jen had politely declined again and again.

"I kinda wish I was here for New Year." Kelsi commented wistfully. "Ryan's parents are having this big party…"

"Oh yeah they're pretty well off aren't they." Jen said, shoveling her bacon into her mouth.

"You know the bacon isn't going anywhere right?" Kelsi joked. Jen was the only person Kelsi had ever seen that could eat as fast as Chad.

"Yeah says the slowest eater ever. I once had to wait a week for you to finish a bagel…"

Kelsi snorted with laughter accidentally spitting bits of egg onto her plate, which then set Jen off into a fit of giggles. What Kelsi liked about Jen was that she never felt self conscious or embarrassed in front of her. Jen didn't care about what anyone thought about her and Kelsi was sure some of this attitude had rubbed off on her. It was refreshing being around someone and having barely any inhibitions. Especially when you lived together.

"I hope your table manners are better at Blondie's house." Jen smirked when their laughter had subsided.

"He's not that wealthy." Kelsi said, though she noticed right away how unconvincing and high pitched voice sounded. She never could lie. Jen raised her eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes in return. "Ok so his parents are quite wealthy." she sighed.

"I could tell straight away. He always looks so… pristine. I'll say this for him though, he's pretty down to earth. Sometimes you get the most AWFUL yuppie students in New York." Jen said darkly. "You know, mommy and daddy paid for private lessons since before they could walk and now they have this sense of entitlement…"

Kelsi nodded but was uncomfortably reminded of Sharpay…

"Yeah I guess… But Ryan's never been like that. You know his parents offered to put him up in a penthouse apartment but he insisted on staying in a dorm and getting a job." Kelsi said proudly. To her satisfaction, Jen looked impressed. "And he works so hard at the restaurant. Honestly, I don't know how he has so much energy."

Sure enough, Kelsi was sure her boyfriend was being grossly overworked at the restaurant he worked in. It had taken him a while to get used to waiting tables. The first couple of weeks had been the most difficult. the boss was, as Ryan put it, 'The Frenchest person on the planet'. From what Kelsi gathered, the first two weeks of Ryan's employment had mostly involved the owner, Pierre, forcibly pushing him between tables and shouting 'I thought you said you could carry plates!' amongst a variety of colourful profanities. He had also admitted that he was sure the only reason Pierre hadn't fired him was because, after dropping their dishes all over the floor, Ryan had managed to charm a group of women into staying at the restaurant instead of storming out.

"He calls me 'Mon Favori'" Ryan had said glumly. "Apparently it means 'My blue-eyed boy'…"

However, once Ryan had displayed some use and was now in the swing of things, he and the owner seemed to have a fun, playful relationship. Having said this, now that Ryan was in a position of trust, it meant he got roped into opening or closing the restaurant which involved a lot of late nights and early mornings.

A knock at the door interrupted the girls' breakfast.

"Speak of the devil." Jen said brightly, strolling over the door. Sure enough…

"Blondie!"

"Does that need to be my nickname?" Kelsi heard Ryan grumble from the doorway.

"I don't know… Mon Favori."

"Kels!"Ryan whined from the hall.

"Sorry!" Kelsi called as she turned in her seat to meet Ryan's offended face. She felt so comfortable with Jen now that she tended not to filter and just tell her everything.

"Maybe I should just go home without you." Ryan said, teasingly edging out the door.

"Oh no you don't!" Kelsi leapt up from the table and ran through to her bedroom to collect her suitcase. Once she was ready to go she gave Jen one last pleading look.

"Sure you don't want to come with us."

Jen just shook her head but gave her a fond smile all the same.

"Not this time. But I'll see you in the new year."

After the girls indulged in a parting hug, Kelsi closed the door, crossing her fingers that her room mate would have a happy Christmas season regardless, and made her way down the stairs with Ryan.

"Has Mitch gone?" she asked Ryan curiously. "Yeah he's back in New Zealand already. It's sad though. He had to choose between going home for Christmas or summer because the flights are so expensive. I guess he'll be in New York over the summer. Dom''s in the same boat. She can't just pop home to South Africa." Ryan said solemnly. Kelsi nodded, but felt a pang of regret for the people she hadn't known longer than a few months.

"It's strange to think we didn't know all these people, just a few months ago." Kelsi speculated. "It's weird, I can't imagine not seeing Jen every morning now."

"Yeah it's going to be so unsettling not hearing a constant drum solo when we're home." Ryan joked.

Then his face came over all serious. He looked down at Kelsi fondly, grasping her hand.

"It's going to be weird not waking up with you every other morning." he said softly. Kelsi felt her face fall. She had gotten so used to sleeping in the same bed as Ryan at least a few times a week and now they would be living in separate neighbourhoods for at least three weeks!

"Will it sound completely ridiculous if I say I'm going to miss you?" Kelsi asked, looking up at Ryan from under the bill of her hat. Ryan just smiled and shook his head.

"No. Suddenly summer in New York looks quite attractive…"

* * *

_**Sharpay**_

Sharpay glared at the boy in her living room. He had made himself quite comfy, lounging on the couch and even resting his feet up on the glass coffee table. She marched over, reached out to the mass of curls on his head and yanked hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Chad looked irritably over his shoulder.

"You're supposed to be helping." she hissed, narrowing her eyes to make them as scary as possible. Her supposed 'helper' glowered back at her.

"This was NOT in our arrangement." he grumbled, pushing himself up from the couch and following her huffily out the room.

"Well whatever. It's ONLY for your friends that have been gone for the last three months." Sharpay snapped sarcastically. As she looked back to make sure Chad was following her she saw him raise his eyebrows at her.

"Is the ice-queen lecturing me on friends?" he asked, an amused grin creeping onto his face. Sharpay just rolled her eyes. She had spent enough time with Chad by now to know not to rise to his antagonizing comments. They worked better that way. And they had to work fast. Their old group from high school or the 'wildcats' (Sharpay hated referring to them like that but Chad insisted) were having a reunion of sorts at The Evans household. Unfortunately it was James the butler's day off so Sharpay had managed to guilt trip Chad into helping. She halted in the kitchen, causing Chad to skid to a stop behind her.

"We need to get all this out into the living room." she said sharply, gesturing to the plates of nibbles that covered every surface of the Evans kitchen worktops. "And quickly! Mom and dad are going to be here with Ryan and Kelsi any minute!"

"If you hadn't taken so long to get ready…"

"The agreement." Sharpay said, cutting over Chad in a quiet but dangerous voice. Chad looked at her dryly for a few seconds before taking a dramatically big breath.

"No complaining about how long I take to get ready." he said, in what Sharpay judged to be a very poor imitation of her voice, as he twirled one of his curls round his finger in a girlish fashion.

"Correct. And in return I won't mention to anyone about the special shampoo I so kindly sought out for you." Sharpay replied with a mischievous grin.

Chad would never have dared mention it, but Sharpay could always tell when someone was having a hair nightmare. One day, having been in one of her kind moods, and sick of how grumpy the situation seemed to be making Chad, she had slyly left the product in his locker with a note saying 'Thank me later'. And thank her he did, when they were safely out of earshot of anyone. Chad was considerably less grumpy and his hair had quite a shine to it now. Luckily, although Chad wasn't overly eager to have anyone know about his 'special shampoo', he could at least see the funny side of it with Sharpay.

"Correct." Chad grinned, comically flicking his hair. "Can't have anyone thinking this is less than natural right?"

"Exactly." Sharpay replied, returning his smile. "Now. Pizza first."

Chad started to carry two pizzas through to the living room without complaint. It was like she said. They worked better when they didn't argue. Sharpay followed him with a few more trays of nibbles but when she entered the living room she found him standing stationary looking down at his cell.

"Hello!" Sharpay said sharply. He didn't move. She couldn't see his face clearly, but there was something not right about how still he was.

"Is everything ok?" Sharpay asked, trying to take on a gentler tone. She couldn't help glancing at the clock on the mantlepiece though. They didn't have time for this! Chad seemed to snap out of his daydream and looked up at her.

"Oh… nothing. Just a message from Gabby. Taylor's running late so she's not coming with her and Troy anymore. She's just gonna come round herself."

It took Sharpay a minute to understand why this was in any way important. Then she realised. Seeing Taylor was going to be awkward either way, but her arriving with a group could have made greeting her marginally easier.

"Ok." Sharpay said curtly, unsure of what to say to get Chad back on track. "Well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Chad nodded, but still stood still. Sharpay was unsure if he'd even heard her.

"Hey!" she said snapping her fingers in front of his face. His face snapped up to look at her. "You need to be… You need to get your head…"

"In the game?" Chad suggested with an amused grin. Sharpay rolled her eyes but let herself chuckle in reply. "If that helps then sure. Get your head in the game Danforth."

* * *

_**Kelsi**_

"Oh Kelsi your neighbourhood is lovely!"

"Look at those trees Derby! I bet they look great in the spring."

"Oh Ducky why have we never been here?!"

Ryan and Kelsi were sitting in the back of Ryan's parents' Mercedes. James had the day off and his Dad had opted to drive. It felt a little strange. They had felt so grown up, living in New York by themselves, making their own meals and managing their own lives, but now that they were being driven by Ryan's parents back to the Evans household, Kelsi felt a bit childish sitting in the back seat with the adults in the front. Vance and Derby Evans were practically giddy about their son being home. They had talked non-stop since meeting them from the airport, in a way that reminded Kelsi of Sharpay's nattering. Ryan had barely been able to get a word in edgeways but he didn't seem to mind. He was simply following the conversation, a contented smile on his face as he clasped Kelsi's hand. She could tell by the look on his face that he was just glad to be back with his family. She felt a little flutter in her stomach as she thought about her parents and brother whom they had left ten minutes ago. Ryan's parents had suggested picking them up from the airport and taking the couple to Kelsi's house first, giving her a chance to catch up with her family before spending the evening with their friends. However, Vance and Derby had seemed even more excited about seeing them than she had. It was comical just how well Ryan's parents had got on with Kelsi's. Their mothers had instantly taken to one another, shamelessly gushing about their respective children. Vance's easy going nature had appealed to her father's calm disposition and once they found they had a mutual interest in golf there was no separating them. Even Thomas had made a good impression. On entering the house, Kelsi had been mortified to find flecks of paint all over the floorboards, a sure sign that Thomas was home and 'working'. Despite the mess, Ryan's parents had beamed when they saw the canvas her brother was currently working on and instantly commended her parents on having TWO talented children.

Kelsi hadn't realised just how much she had missed her family. She called and skyped them regularly and, as a result, she hadn't felt particularly homesick whilst in New York. However, the minute the front door had opened to reveal her mom and dad, Kelsi had barreled into them and held them as close as possible, paying no heed to the presence of Ryan and his parents. In the end, Thomas had to prise her away from her Dad's shoulder. before grumbling in embarrassment as she simply transferred her soppy hug to him instead. She had felt a little embarrassed herself when she had finally detached herself from her brother but her mother, as usual, managed to outshine her by pulling Ryan into a choking hug and kissing both his cheeks. Kelsi's mother adored Ryan and he usually milked this sentiment for all it was worth, being sickeningly charming whenever he encountered her. This time it had begun with,"Mrs Neilson! Did you get a haircut? You look fabulous!" Kelsi's mom usually hit him playfully and told him to stop whilst her cheeks burned red, making it painfully clear where Kelsi had inherited her blushes from.

Now they were en route to the Evans Household for a reunion of sorts with the other wildcats. Both Ryan AND Kelsi had received a number of threatening texts from Sharpay, demanding to know why they hadn't arrived yet. The latest said, '**I have no one to talk to except from my 'helpful' assistant so PLEASE hurry up! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'** To Sharpay's credit, no matter how rude she appeared, she would always embellish any text message with an excessive amount of kisses.

The minute the car pulled up next to the house, Ryan leapt out the passenger seat at lightening speed. Kelsi just watched him resignedly as he ran up to the front door. As she expected, he lifted his hand to knock and the door swung open before his hand even made contact with it. From the car, Kelsi saw Sharpay stand in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.

"Aaaah!"

With a deafening squeal she threw herself into his arms and continued to scream excitedly as Ryan enveloped her in a tight hug. For a second it was like there was no one else around. Seemingly forgetting everyone else around them, Ryan screamed happily with her as they jumped up and down ecstatically.

"Some things never change." Kelsi heard Derby murmur as she nudged her husband and nodded over to the twins who were now jokingly going through their 'vocal warm ups'.

"Mah!"

"Mah!"

"MAH!"

Kelsi loved her brother, but it was hard at this moment not to feel a little jealous of the connection Ryan and Sharpay seemed to share. So many aspects of their personality were drastically different, to the point that Ryan had confided to Kelsi that if he had no relation whatsoever to Sharpay and had met her on the street one day, he doubted they would even become friends. Despite this, Kelsi knew that his sister was an essential part of who Ryan was, the same way that he was for her. It was a bit disheartening to Kelsi to accept that she would never fully understand their relationship. She couldn't even begin to imagine the level to which the twins had depended done each other and shared their lives together.

As Kelsi approached the front door and caught Sharpay's eye over Ryan's shoulder, she was suddenly aware of how little she knew Ryan's twin sister. Of course she had been her dedicated (albeit overworked) pianist for years but if she was honest with herself Kelsi had spent more time trying to find ways to avoid Sharpay rather than get to know her. However, that was before Ryan had become such a pivotal part of her life. Yes, the twins had become less reliant on each other over the years, becoming increasingly more independent individuals but, at the end of the day, it was clear that The Evans Twins were still a package deal...

"Kelsi!" Sharpay exclaimed as she drew near. The blonde girl scurried down the porch steps and promptly kissed Kelsi on both cheeks. Kelsi automatically stiffened in alarm at the gesture and found herself just staring blankly at Sharpay's warm expression.

"I'm so glad you're wearing the clothes I bought you." Sharpay said brightly, seemingly unaware of Kelsi's sudden inability to communicate. "Though between you and me Ryan needs some work. What… what is this?" Sharpay subtly pointed at Ryan's outfit as he ran to help his parents get his bags from the car. Kelsi unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh. Ryan had taken to wearing sweatpants EVERYWHERE. Kelsi realised that this was practical when he had a full day of dance classes at college, but soon the sweatpants had started to appear other places. Places sweatpants weren't exactly necessary. Like when he visited her dorm, when they went for coffee. Mitch had slyly revealed to Kelsi that Ryan had been planning to wear them to a party one night and that he had taken it upon himself to refuse to let Ryan leave and insist he changed. Kelsi had been utterly confused by this strange phase Ryan seemed to be going through until she started to be a bit more observant around campus.

"It's a Julliard Dance Student thing." Kelsi muttered aside to Sharpay, playfully rolling her eyes.

"Seriously? Since when does Ryan care about fitting in?" Sharpay scoffed. Kelsi just smiled and shrugged it off but, in all honesty, she had been thinking the exact same thing.

"So, you mentioned a surprise?" Ryan asked, joining them at the porch with his bags in tow.

"We're only doing the surprise if you change." Sharpay said, her face unsmiling. "No sweatpants allowed during the surprise."

"Princess…" Vance interjected as he and Derby joined them. "Your a hostess remember…"

"Sorry Daddy." Sharpay sighed. She turned back to Ryan and gave him her sweetest smile. "There is a certain dress code in place for tonight but please do come inside and make use of our excellent changing facilities." she said, sweeping her arms in a grand gesture towards the house and giving her parents a smug look in the process.

"You're ever so kind Shar…"Ryan said grimly.

"Hate to intrude on the reunion guys but… where does this go?" a familiar voice called from doorway. To Kelsi's utter bewilderment, none other than Chad Danforth appeared on porch next to Sharpay, holding a large cake emblazoned with a Wildcat logo.

"Hey Ryan, Kelsi." Chad said brightly, smiling at them each in turn.

Kelsi glanced quickly at Ryan who was wearing a puzzled expression that mirrored hers. When Sharpay had mentioned a helpful assistant they had naturally assumed she was talking about Zeke...

"Hey… Chad." Ryan said, glancing at his sister uncertainly.

"Hi." Kelsi squeaked, finding herself wordless with surprise for the second time in five minutes.

"The centre of the dining table." Sharpay said brusquely, as if Chad Danforth helping her set up for a party was a completely normal occurrence. "I left a space!"

"Ok Shar, see you guys inside." Chad replied before vanishing inside. Kelsi and Ryan shared another quick glance at each other, their eyes wide.

_Shar?_

"Princess… " Vance said again, jerking his head to the doorway where Chad had just retreated into.

"Oh of course! Come in!" Sharpay trilled excitedly, grabbing Ryan's hand and dragging him down the hallway. Kelsi followed them in a daze, her mind still wrestling to understand what was going on. Chad Danforth… What on earth…

"You'll be so proud Ry. It's James' day off so I did EVERYTHING myself…" Sharpay said happily.

"Everything?" Chad called indignantly from the dining room.

"Oh… Well Chad helped. If you can call carrying a few things in between watching the basketball game 'helping'?" she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Kelsi watched Ryan as he narrowed his eyes at his sister, as if trying to solve a difficult problem. Kelsi would have bet all ten of her piano fingers that this 'problem' that needed solving had curly hair and loved basketball. Clearly his 'twin telepathy' wasn't working with this conundrum.

"Look!" Sharpay spread her arms widely as they entered the dining room. Kelsi gasped and for a second forgot trying to figure out what was going on with Chad. The long dining table was completely covered in food. From pizza, to muffins, cocktail sausages to cake, Sharpay seemed to have thought of everything. There was upbeat music already issuing from the stereo in the corner (the massive one that Kelsi had previously admired in the music room). The room was also decorated in lots of silver hangings, draping from wall to wall over their heads.

"Oh Sharpay! It's beautiful!" Derby exclaimed, clasping her hands together in rapture. "You have your mother's eye for decorating." she said with a fond smile. Sharpay beamed in response.

"And well done to Chad too, of course." Ryan's Dad added, giving Chad, who was adjusting the snacks around the cake, a big thumbs up.

"Oh Vance, Derby, I left you guys a plate of everything in the living room." he said, flashing them a smile and a small wink. Kelsi and Ryan exchanged another look. It was brief and subtle but they understood each other completely.

_Vance? _

_Derby? _

_Did he just WINK?!_

"Great stuff kid! We'll leave you to it." Vance replied putting his arm round his wife and escorting her out the room.

"James didn't help you with any of this?" Ryan asked, looking around incredulously. Sharpay paused for a moment and bit her lip guiltily.

"He made the cake." she admitted. "In fact, he did all the baking, but everything else was me! Even the hangings! Chad said they should be red, but I'm wearing pink and… well it was impossible of course." she said matter of factly. Ryan frowned in response to this and Kelsi instantly caught on why.

"Why would James do the baking? What about Zeke?" Ryan asked slowly, looking at his twin curiously and, if Kelsi was reading him correctly, a bit anxiously?

Just then the doorbell rang throughout the house.

"Troy and Gabriella!" Sharpay chirped and sped out the room. Ryan went to call after her but before he had the chance, Chad was by their side.

"C'mere small person! Let me give you a hug!" Kelsi smiled gratefully to her friend and threw her arms around him, letting him pick her up off the floor. However, she couldn't help but look worriedly over at Ryan over his shoulder. His expression mirrored hers. She couldn't help but think that they were in for an interesting evening…


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! Sorry you had a bit of a wait. I've gotten to that horrible stage where you have all these plans for much LATER in the story and nothing for people to read at the present time in the story. Awkward! Anyway, I'll do my best to be a bit prompter with my updates. However, I've got most of my new story 'Ryan and Kelsi: The Arguments' written and ready to go. Updates will probably be a bit more frequent for that one so please check it out :) **

**Thank you to anyone who is reading and reviewing. Your support is so lovely and it really does mean a lot. XXX**

* * *

**Ryan**

Ryan was currently trapped in what had to be the most awkward silence there had ever been. He tried to tell himself it was the layout of the room. The dining table chairs had been replaced with two couches, presumably to make everyone more comfortable. It resulted on half of the group being situated on the opposite side of the room from the other half. As Ryan observed the occupants of the couch opposite him he abandoned this excuse. It was plain on everyone's faces that the layout of the room wasn't to blame. Troy sat directly opposite Gabriella and the two of them were determinedly trying not to make eye contact. Inevitably they would occasionally look up at the same time, causing Troy to scowl and Gabriella to bite her lip anxiously. In addition to this, the pair had certainly looked better. They had matching grey shadows under their eyes and seemed to be slouching somewhat in their seats. They would even yawn on occasion. Ryan had no idea what was wrong with the golden couple. On arrival Troy had taken a seat next to Chad who then politely moved over to make space for Gabriella. To everyone's surprise, Gabriella had made a beeline for the other couch and taken the first seat available… right next to Sharpay. If he hadn't been so concerned for his friends, Ryan could have laughed aloud at the look of dismay Sharpay had shot at Gabriella. She had made some stiff small talk with her ex-arch-enemy but predictably they soon lapsed into silence. Ryan sat between his sister and Kelsi and on Kelsi's other side sat Taylor. It had taken no time at all for Taylor to notice Chad and Sharpay's… whatever it was, and she had taken to staring at furiously from across the room. Chad was doing his best to pretend he couldn't see her by keeping his gaze fixed on his shoes but Taylor was so persistent that Ryan was certain she wasn't even blinking. When Jason and Martha had arrived Ryan was sure this would help lighten the mood. They were both such happy, open people and he was confident that they would turn things around. Unfortunately, the arrival of a happy couple, still in the naive honeymoon period of their relationship, seemed to make everyone even more grumpy. Jason, Martha, Ryan and Kelsi attempted to make some upbeat conversation here and there but it was all undoubtedly forced. Sharpay had joined in for a while then had made some excuse about 'having things to prepare.'. Ryan was sure he heard her mutter the word 'buzzkill' as she sauntered out the room.

As the conversation died once more, Ryan shot Gabriella a desperate look. She met his gaze briefly then looked away, her face resigned. Until now,he had never quite appreciated how integral Troy and Gabriella were to their group of friends. They were the people that had brought them together. The eternal optimists. It was as if their flame had gone out and had extinguished everyone else's at the same time. Ryan suddenly winced as he remembered Zeke still had to arrive. He had a feeling that was going to be ten times even more awkward than what had already occurred.

"I need some help in the kitchen." Sharpay said, poking her head round the door and looking pointedly at Gabriella.

"Great I'll help." Gabriella immediately replied as she leapt up from the couch and followed Sharpay out the door.

Ryan watched them leave curiously. This had 'girl's private chat' written all over it. His sister had never particularly cared for Gabriella but his guess was that she had come to the same conclusion as he had. If the golden couple were saved, the night would be saved. He was about to rise and try to get in on the conversation himself, but to his surprise his girlfriend jumped up first.

"I need to… They probably. Yeah." she mumbled, her face flushing furiously.

With that, she scuttled out of the room and closing the door behind her. Ryan watched her leave in disbelief. He loved his girlfriend to bits but she was the worst liar. This didn't seem to matter. With one last fleeting scowl directed at her ex-boyfriend, Taylor left the room without saying a word. Unsurprisingly Martha followed her, looking completely baffled by the situation. Ryan sank back into his chair and without thinking let out a long sigh.

"You said it." Troy remarked, though his eyes didn't even leave his phone.

**Kelsi**

On entering the kitchen, she found Gabriella leaning against the centre island, a few tears running down her cheeks, with Sharpay awkwardly but comfortingly, patting her shoulder.

"Real smooth Kelsi." Sharpay said dryly as Kelsi entered. Kelsi was about to retort when she saw Taylor and Martha hot on her heels.

"Wow so much for subtlety." Sharpay added, rolling her eyes,

"Has it gotten worse? With Troy?" Taylor asked softly, tenderly taking one of Gabriella's hands.  
Gabriella nodded feverishly. A fresh wave of tears appeared and they waited patiently as she fumbled around in her pockets for a tissue. Taylor kept her eyes trained on her best friemd though Kelsi saw them flit suspiciously to Sharpay occasionally. The blonde paid her no heed and kept her face impassive. Martha just looked plain confused by the whole thing.

"Things have been so difficult." Gabriella eventually whispered as she wiped her eyes. "The first month was so great and then…" Gabriella voice caught and Kelsi instinctively flew to her side and draped a comforting arm around her shoulders. After a few seconds Gabriella managed to take a few deep breaths and carry on.  
"Well from then on it started to get really hard and we got in this stupid fight on the way over here." Gabriella sighed, looking at her feet and shaking her head regretfully.

_"Troy… Do you need to do that now?"_

_Troy's piercing blue eyes looked up at her from the script he had been pouring over since they got in the cab fifteen minutes ago. She usually loved his blue eyes, but right now they looked cold and accusing._

_"I told you already Gab, I need to know all my lines when college starts up again." he said in a tone that suggested his word was final. He went back to staring at the script, his lips mouthing the lines as he went along. Gabriella gave herself a few seconds before she dared to speak next. There seemed to be a formidable wall of hostility surrounding Troy, despite the fact he was sat right next to her._

_"It's just… You have all of Christmas break…"_

_"Look, I'm sorry that I can't pick up lines as quickly as you can. If I don't want to be behind everyone else in my group then I need to start learning them now." Troy snapped, not even bothering to look up at her this time._

_Gabriella felt the sting of his unfair comment and, forgetting herself, reached over and closed the book for him._

_"Hey! What…"_

_"It's the holidays Troy. We're on our way to see our FRIENDS." Gabriella pleaded, putting her hand on his arm to show she meant well. "Please. Can't it wait until after today?"_

_Troy met her gaze and saw, to her relief, that the anger that had flared up in his eyes seemed to ebb away. He didn't answer though. Instead he tore his face away and slumped in his face, opting to stare out the window. Gabriella watched him for a few seconds despairingly. What was she supposed to say now?_

_"Troy.."_

_"I just don't think it's fair." he said shortly, still staring out the window as the New Mexico scenery flew by._

_"What are you talking about?" Gabriella asked, starting to feel a tad irritated by the way Troy was dealing with all this. Couldn't they just discuss this like adults? Could he at least look at her?_

_"Well for the last few weeks I've done nothing but try to spend time with you and you wouldn't because you were 'too busy'. And now that I've got stuff to do I'm supposed to just drop it." he muttered, still not looking at her._

_"Well I don't think it's fair that you don't even look at me while you're judging me." Gabriella retorted, surprising herself at how cold she sounded. But sure enough, there was an undeniable rush of anger that seemed to grow inside her the longer he insisted on avoiding her gaze. Yet, when he looked round at her with that childish scowl, it only made her more mad._

_"It's because, funnily enough, I don't ENJOY arguing." Troy hissed, looking her straight in the eye. "And that's all we seem to do these days."_

_"I don't enjoy it either!" Gabriella replied, ignoring his sarcasm. Troy's eyes widened at her slightly raised voice and he jerked his head at the cab driver. Gabriella felt herself flush with embarrassment but tried to carry on, keeping her voice low._

_"I'm sick of this." she murmured. She saw a flash of hurt in Troy's eyes before they turned defensive_

_"You're sick of me. I move to CALIFORNIA and you're sick of me." Troy whispered. His voice sounded tough but Gabriella registered the anxiety underneath._

_"No that's not what I meant." she said hurriedly. "I just meant, we can't always be like this. We need to try…"_

_"I AM trying…"_

_"Then…. i don't know!" Gabriella cried, her voice trembling slightly on her last word. She felt that ache in the back of her throat warning her that she was about to cry but she tried to ignore it and stare at the floor._

_"Me neither." Troy replied flatly, turning his face to the window again._

"We didn't speak at all for the rest of the drive." Gabriella said softly, her large brown eyes wide with worry. "We're both SO busy and it seems like whenever one person has time, then the other doesn't. I didn't realise it would be so difficult…."

Gabriella was cut off as the doorbell rang through the house. There was only one person it could be. Kelsi instinctively looked at Sharpay tentatively but she just shrugged it off.

"Ryan will get it."

Gabriella fell silent, wiping her tears and shaking her head apologetically. She opened her mouth to say something before Taylor cut her off.

"Don't say sorry." Taylor said softly but firmly. "We're your friends." Gabriella nodded and even managed a grateful smile.

"You're not going to tell me you told me so?" Gabriella asked, with a small humourless laugh. Taylor shook her head seriously.

"Your my best friend. I just want you to be happy." she smiled, wiping a tear from Gabriella's cheek. "I think you both need to talk though…"

"It doesn't sound like Troy." Kelsi offered quietly. She had listened to Gabriella's story and yet it was so difficult to imagine the couple arguing to harshly with each other. The kind boy that had helped her up when she tripped over her piano stool wouldn't just become a callous, unfeeling person in a matter of months. Something had to be wrong. Something that could be fixed again.

"It doesn't." Martha agreed. "But people do all sorts of crazy things when they're stressed."

"Agreed. I mean I'm a prime example. Remember your quick change in 'Twinkle Towne'?" Sharpay said to Gabriella, her lips curling up into a smirk. To Kelsi's surprise, Gabriella managed a small smile.

"Yeah. You said, 'Get out of that dress or get out.'" Gabriella giggled.

"And then?" Sharpay asked, her eyes twinkling.

"And then you ripped my dress off."

"And did you make your cue?"

"Yes I did." Gabriella laughed. "Oh Sharpay I forgot about that!"

"This is more like it!" Martha said encouragingly, taking Kelsi and Taylor's hands in her own. "This is what tonight should be like! Us laughing and reminiscing together!"

Kelsi smiled and squeezed Martha's hand gratefully, Gabriella grinned her face finally looking a bit more cheerful, and Sharpay gave a curt nod and said "Absolutely!"

Taylor seemed less enthused but she gave Martha a weak smile nonetheless. Martha frowned at this and took a step toward her friend.

"What is it Tay?"

Just then, a roar of laughter was heard from the dining room, making them all jump. Sharpay's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she took off down the hallway to investigate. Taylor watched Sharpay leave until she was out of earshot then turned to the rest of them.

"I'll laugh and reminisce when I find out what she's up to with Chad." Taylor murmured venomously as she glared at Sharpay's retreating figure.

Kelsi hurried behind the rest of the girls, intent on finding out what was going on in the dining room, when she was yanked back by the wrist. The culprit turned out to be Martha, who held her in place in the hallway until the other girls had disappeared.

"I missed you Kels." Martha grinned, her eyes wide and sincere. Kelsi instantly threw her arms around her old friend. They pair hadn't had much of a chance to greet each other properly. The air had been so tense you could cut it with a knife. Kelsi was suddenly overcome with an urge to spill every little thing that had happened in her life over the last few months, despite the fact they were standing in the middle of Ryan and Sharpay's hall.

She was of course grateful for the wonderful people she had met in New York. There was a wealth of like-minded people everywhere she turned. Mitch could make her laugh until he stomach ached. Her colleagues at the tea room, with no prompting at all, had taken to calling her 'Kels' and Jen… Well Kelsi felt like she'd known Jen almost as long as she had known Martha. Kelsi relished the fact that she could start friendships from scratch and meet people that had no preconceptions about you. To the people she met in New York, she didn't need to be that girl that never seemed to speak until Junior Year or that short girl that follows the drama club around. No, she could be exactly who she wanted to be. However, now that he was back with her old friends, there was something comforting about the idea that they had known her from her fragile beginnings of social awkwardness and watched her grow. They knew each tiny flawed detail about her and they loved her all the same. They had roots. In front of Kelsi stood a girl who had once told Kelsi to calm down and breathe the first time she tried on her 'prom costume' for the Senior Year show. The girl who had watched her do a shot of vodka for the first time and hadn't laughed at the face she'd pulled. The girl who, way before they were even friends, sat next to her in Chemistry and would nudge her if the teacher was approaching, meaning she could hide the composition she had been working on instead of doing her classwork.

"I missed you too Mar." she smiled, pulling away from Martha. "Lets catch up just the two of us, before I go back to New York."

"Definitely." Martha beamed.

Kelsi and Martha were met with a curious sight on re-entering the dining room. For starters, no one was sitting anymore. Zeke stood at the far end of the room demonstrating a very poor waltz. The boys were all crowded around him and beside themselves laughing. Jason was doubled over, Ryan and Chad were leaning on the table helplessly and Troy was actually wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. Zeke all the while was turning around the room in a raring disjointed sort of way. The girls didn't even know what this conversation was about but it was impossible not to laugh. Zeke had always been one of those people that could brighten up a room but, considering Sharpay's earlier evasive comments, Kelsi had expected a much more subdued Zeke than the one standing before her.

"And she says…'So you waltzed in your school musical?'"  
The boys erupted into fresh peals of laughter which ended with Jason actually hanging on to Troy for support.

"I can just see it man." Jason spluttered, shaking his head as he shook with laughter.

"Festive Ball at College." Zeke said to the others by way of explanation, "Made the mistake of telling a girl I could waltz to impress her. Turns out that I've lost that particular skill set." Zeke said with a grin.

They were all thinking the same thing, though no one acknowledged it. Martha made some joke about Zeke perhaps attending one of her dance classes while Gabriella patted his shoulder and reminded him that his friends from East High had seen him dance, even if it was just for one show. If anyone was surprised by anything Zeke had said, they certainly didn't show it. Strangely, the one person that Kelsi was sure would intensify the awkwardness of the room ten-fold, had actually evaporated the tension from the room. With everyone up on their feet and talking freely, it almost seemed like old times. Well… almost. Taylor and Chad were still avoiding each other like the plague. Troy and Gabriella were at least exchanging a few words but it seemed strained. And Sharpay… Well for once the girl who craved the spotlight didn't seem to want to be in the thick of things right now. She hung back on the edge of the group, watching Zeke with an expression of… confusion? Sadness? Indifference? It was so hard to tell with Sharpay. One thing was certain though. Upon entering the room, the girl who could usually face anything head on had practically jumped back in alarm. Evidently she had been more surprised than anyone that Zeke had been the one to raise everyone's spirits. It was clear that whatever their relationship had been in the summer had ended and, judging by Sharpay's seemingly mixed emotions, it wasn't simple either.

**Ryan**

"C'mon Ryan! Surprise is commencing NOW. Meaning we need to GO!"

"Come in a second Shar. I need a hand." Ryan called through his bedroom door, trying his best to sound off-hand. He had been hoping for a moment to talk to Sharpay alone and this seemed like the best chance he would get. In his full length mirror he saw Sharpay enter the room behind him and gently close the door behind her. Ryan caught her eye in the mirror and opened his arms wide, displaying his outfit. He had traded in his comfy sweatpants and T-shirt for a stylish pair of jeans and a grey shirt complete with a black tie.

"Oh cut to the chase Ryan." Sharpay sighed impatiently. "Since when did you actually WANT my fashion advice? Though… you thought it was ok to turn up in sweatpants this evening." Sharpay wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Actually yeah, maybe you do need help…"

"Does that mean you're satisfied?" Ryan asked coolly, deciding to ignore his sister's jibe at his oh so comfy sweatpants.

"It's cold out. You'll be warm enough?" Sharpay asked, a rare note of concern coming into her voice. Ryan couldn't help but laugh.

"I survived winter in New York. I'm sure I can handle a cool night in New Mexico." Ryan joked. To his disappointment Sharpay didn't respond. She stood there chewing her lip for a second. Sharpay could normally be depended on to speak her mind. During the rare moments where she debated whether or not to speak out, she chewed her lip.

"Spit it out." Ryan said resignedly, taking a seat on his bed.

"What's the whole sweatpants thing?!" Sharpay burst out, wringing her hands in confusion. Ryan frowned at her. He didn't know what he'd been expecting… but it wasn't that.  
"Shar, I've worn sweatpants before…."

"Yeah when you're EXERCISING. Which, by the way, is what they are FOR." Sharpay rattled on. Ryan watched her in absolute bemusement. She almost looked angry. Was she seriously this riled up about a fashion preference?

"Well they're comfy and I got used to wearing them." Ryan shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "So what?"

"So wha… Ryan that's not you." Sharpay said, walking towards him intensely. "You ALWAYS look your best. You always look so smart and… Ryany." Sharpay finished, her brown eyes widening until they looked almost manic. Ryan searched her face, trying to find any clues as to what his sister was getting at. He didn't realise wearing sweatpants would cause this much drama.

"Shar, I'm in a different city. I can't embarrass you…"

"It's not about me!" Sharpay said exasperatedly. "This is just so obviously a JULLIARD thing. And it's not you."

Ryan looked at her steadily. His first thought was that his sister was down about not being at Julliard with him. She had taken this result like a champ ever since the scholarship winners had been announced and seemed enthusiastic enough with the prospect of helping with East High's drama department. However, Ryan often wondered if it did still bother her sometimes… Ryan looked for signs of this. He looked for regret, or maybe even jealousy but found none.

"I still don't..."

"Ryan you have never cared what anyone else thinks of you." Sharpay stressed, sitting on the bed next to him. "So… why now?"

There it was. How did she always see things before he saw them himself?

"I guess I wanted to fit in." Ryan said slowly, not realising until he actually said the words that this was how he had been feeling. "It's still a bit strange just being Ryan. Not… Ryan and Sharpay… And then, what if I just become 'Ryan and Kelsi'. Does that make sense?"  
Ryan locked eyes with his sister and she stared encouragingly back, nodding gently.

"Yeah I can relate to that." she said softly.

"Zeke?" Ryan said, knowing that no more words were needed to approach the subject.

"I stopped calling him. First week of college." Sharpay said flatly, avoiding his gaze. Ryan just nodded. He had feared that was the case ever since Sharpay had mentioned James baking the cakes. He told himself he should have seen it coming. After all, Sharpay had always been unpredictable and flippant with Zeke. But honestly, he had almost been convinced that it would last this time. Ryan had spent most of his summer in the presence of the couple and they had seemed deliriously happy. Maybe he had under-estimated just how big a change college would be. When it came to Sharpay's relationships, it didn't take any big change to scare her off. The slightest rock in the boat would make her abandon ship.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryan asked her quietly. He felt like he should be angry. She had demanded to hear every little detail of his life in New York whilst he had been away, and he had happily filled her in as best he could. He knew she missed him. But he had been under the impression that she would keep him in the loop too. Instead he had returned and been greeted with a wealth of things about his twin that he didn't understand. But now, while she sat slumped over, staring at her feet, her hair creating a wall around her, the anger wouldn't come.

"I should have." Sharpay mumbled, effortlessly reading Ryan's subtext.

Ryan desperately tried to put the pieces together in his head. So college had began and she had pushed Zeke out of her life… again. Then Chad had appeared… Ryan still couldn't comprehend the situation. Surely Chad sided with Zeke, his ex-team-mate and friend. Chad and Sharpay weren't exactly renowned for their caring friendship. 'The Mountain Lion' and 'The Ice Queen' were two of Chad's kinder nicknames for her and Sharpay had certainly never had time for the jock, no matter how much Ryan had sung his praises.

They were at college together. Sharpay had left Zeke. Chad and Taylor had split. Were they both lonely? Did they look to each other for comfort?

"Is that what brought Chad into the picture?" Ryan asked, patting his sister's knee in what he thought was an understanding manner.

"What?" Sharpay asked, her voice muffled by her curtain of hair.

"Chad. I mean, I never pictured it but I know it must have been nice to have a familiar face…"

Sharpay's hair whipped behind her as she snapped her head up to look at him. The look on her face made Ryan stop dead in his tracks.

"That's what you think?" she asked savagely, her brown eyes flashing. "I was done with one jock so I moved onto the next available one? His friend? That's what you THINK?!"

Her voice had reached a shriek and her eyes were boring into his, her expression a mixture of fury and hurt. Ryan felt about two feet tall.

"No. No of course." Ryan winced as she continued to stare him out. "Sorry sis, that was stupid. I just… I can't piece this one together…"

"For someone that's supposed to know me better than anyone, you presume way too much." Sharpay murmured. She seemed to shrink, as if the anger was leaking out of her, just leaving her wounded features behind. Guilt washed over Ryan like a cold bucket of water. He grabbed his sister's hand and squeezed it tight.

"Sorry. You're right. I am supposed to know you better than anyone. That's why I'm so annoyed with myself sis. I hate that I can't figure this one out. Give me some help?" he said sincerely, appealing to his sister with his eyes. Sharpay held his gaze seriously for a few seconds before letting out a light chuckle.

"Can't a girl have friends?" she asked quietly, giving him a weak smile. She took in Ryan's unconvinced expression and sighed loudly.  
"Ok we're not exactly friends." she said with a roll of her eyes. "More… allies." She smiled at her own word choice. "Hmmm allies? I like that…"

"Wait, allies in what?" Ryan asked. Suddenly Sharpay's face brightened and she leapt up to her feet.

"Stay right there!" she called as she ran into her bedroom across the hall. When she returned she was clasping a large purple ring-binder which she plonked down on Ryan's bed between them.

"And this is…"

"Our business!" Sharpay stated proudly, stabbing a finger on the folder. She started to flick through the pages enthusiastically as Ryan watched, still unsure about what was happening.

"So the performing arts students and the basketball guys… Well not just the scholarship guys, anyone who's doing a course in Physical Education. We all have to take this weekly conditioning class. Anyway me and Chad always out-perform everyone. We're just winners I guess." Sharpay giggled, looking through her folder excitedly.

Ryan just stared at his sister, dumbstruck.

"Shar, I still don't…"

"Just WAIT, I'm not finished. Anyway, I suggested we run extra sessions for the class because everyone was complaining that we needed more conditioning but there was no way to get it on the timetable yadda yadda. Me and Chad were perfect because he could help the sports people and I can show everything from a performer's point of view. Anyway it got a bit out of hand and people want it over the holidays so we think we're going to make it an independent business rather than a college activity."

Sharpay finished her explanation and sat blinking at him happily. Ryan was speechless. Of all the explanations he had imagined about Chad… this hadn't been one of them.

"Shar it's… it's amazing. It's really innovative." Ryan breathed, leaning over to look at the folder's contents. Inside were drawn out sketches of various exercises as well as playlists of songs, venue plans and invoices.

"I know." Sharpay chirped, grinning widely. "It doesn't have a name yet. Chad just shoots down anything I suggest."

"You're giving him a choice?!" Ryan asked in disbelief. That wasn't usually how partnerships worked.

"We work better when we don't argue." Sharpay said curtly. "And also… just think how much our performances would have been if I'd allowed some of your suggestions through Ry."

Ryan and Sharpay shared a smile for a few seconds.

"I missed you sis."

"I missed you too bro."  
They shared a small, close hug before Sharpay rolled her eyes and stood up again.

"Right enough of the mushy stuff. We'll be late for the surprise."

"You know… I was usually always given advance notice of your schemes." Ryan said pointedly, giving his sister a wicked grin.

"True." Sharpay smirked. "Then you should know that we're going to the ice-rink. I booked the WHOLE THING."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think :)**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! Big thank you again for following this story. Cheers to lovemesomeglee and qsc for reviewing the last chapter and to anyone that had reviewed, read, followed, favourited etc etc this story. It's what makes me want to keep writing and sharing with you all :)**

**Not sure how I feel about this chapter to be honest... I know what I where I want the story to go much later so I'm sort of building towards that. So hopefully the chapters in between don't look to... filler-ish. Anyhoo! Please read and let me know what you think of it!**

**Lots of love!  
**

* * *

**Kelsi**

"This is so good without people!"

Kelsi giggled at Jason's comment as he and Zeke clambered onto the rink and proceeded to race each other to the other side, ultimately crashing into the barrier and falling backwards onto the ice. The mood had lightened somewhat since Sharpay had revealed the surprise. It was hard not to be excited about having an entire ice-rink to themselves. However, there were still a few things amiss. Taylor had stopped throwing murderous looks at Chad and Sharpay but the ex couple continued to keep their distance. Sharpay didn't seem particularly daunted by Taylor's attitude towards her, but nonetheless she stayed out of her way. Troy and Gabriella had disappeared into the nearby woods on their arrival to the ice-skating rink and no one had commented on it. Kelsi had a feeling that everyone, including her, was secretly hoping they would be back to normal when they returned.

To Kelsi's relief, she wasn't the only one who had never been ice-skating. Martha admitted that she was a novice too and Taylor had volunteered to help. At the moment she was holding Martha and Kelsi's mitten clad hands in her own and was trying to delicately guide them onto the ice. Kelsi felt instantly disheartened as Chad skidded past them to join the other two boys, followed by Sharpay and Ryan who, side by side, looked like some sort of photogenic figure skating team.

"Well that's just unfair." she grumbled as Ryan started to skate backwards to wave at her cheerfully. She attempted to give him a sarcastic wave back, but even that made her wobble dangerously.

"Tell me about it." Martha sighed. "Jason plays ice-hockey."

The girls looked over to Jason, who was indeed rocketing round the rink with impeccable speed and precision. He looked rather smug, being better at something than everyone else for a change.

"Figures." Taylor said dryly. "But don't worry about them. It's a really natural thing. You just have to get rid of your fear of falling."

"Will we fall?" Martha asked anxiously as she held onto the side with her other hand.

"Yes." Taylor said firmly, looking at her seriously. Kelsi and Martha looked at Taylor in shock.

"But... But you said..."  
"Everyone falls Kelsi." Taylor laughed kindly. "It's honestly not that bad. It's like a... rite of passage."

Kelsi and Martha exchanged an unenthusiastic look. This was one rite of passage they wished to avoid.

"Hey Playmaker, Mar! How's the skating lesson?"

All three girls looked over in surprise to see Troy and Gabriella skating towards them, holding hands and looking a bit sheepish.

"Uuh... great." Kelsi replied, trying to sound casual. "Taylor's just informed us that we're going to definitely fall at some point so... that's good news."

"She's right." Troy grinned nudging Gabriella. "You should have seen this one when I taught her to skateboard."

"Let's just say I'm glad I have first aid training." Gabriella giggled, kissing Troy's cheek fondly. "I'll stay and help. You should probably go and save Zeke..."  
"Yeah sure... what?" Troy, and everyone else, looked over the other side of the rink to see Jason and Chad holding each of Zeke's arms and pelting down the rink before letting him go and letting him slide the rest of the way. This of course ended up with Zeke crashing and landing in a heap at the other end.

"Hey if I help from the rear we can make him go even faster!" Troy called. With one last wink to his girlfriend he skated off to meet the boys.

"So?" Taylor hissed, the minute Troy was out of ear shot. Gabriella sighed sadly as she took Kelsi's arm, letting Taylor support Martha.

"This sort of thing won't be fixed in a day, but I think we're on our way." she said softly, smiling at the three girls. "I knew high school ending was a bad idea." she joked, breaking the tension and allowing them to laugh together. Kelsi was suddenly aware of something skidding right next to her and let out a little involuntary yelp of fright. When she focused on the figure beside her, her eyes were met with an apologetic looking Jason.

"Sorry Kels, force of habit. I'm here to inform you that Martha Cox's chauffeur has arrived." he said brightly, gently skating in front of Martha and offering his hands behind his back for her to hold onto. Martha blushed and nodded eagerly, taking his hands and letting out a little squeal of excitement as he started to pull her along.

"They're so sweet." Kelsi sighed, watching the happy couple soar around the rink.

"Ugh... "

"Sickly."

Kelsi looked round at her friends who were both watching Jason and Martha leave with their faces screwed up in distaste.

"Guys!" she complained, looking at her friends disapprovingly.

"Sorry Kelsi but after you've been in a relationship for a while, when you see someone in the honeymoon stage of their relationship you kind of... well..."

"Want them to be unhappy?" Taylor offered Gabriella. Gabriella laughed but brushed Taylor's suggestion away.

"No! Not unhappy! I don't know, I guess you're just all to aware that things are eventually going to get real." Gabriella finished sombrely.

"Yeah. And how uncomplicated high school relationships really are to real life." Taylor grumbled. "Speaking of which, I have no idea what to do about Chad. Should I speak to him or..."

"Or let him take you for a snow cone?"

All three girls jumped and while Gabriella and Taylor managed to retain their balance, Kelsi didn't. Before she knew it, the world had flipped upside down and she was on her back, staring at the dark clouds above her. Her first thought was that Taylor had lied. She'd definitely bruised her behind (as well as her dignity) and her back and the backs of her legs were soaked within about three seconds of lying there. Her second thought was that, admittedly, she had expected falling to be a lot worse.

"Rescue team! Rescue team!" was the first thing Kelsi heard before Ryan and Troy peeked into her line of vision.

"How many fingers?" Troy asked, holding up three. Kelsi suddenly had a surreal flashback of when Troy's dad had asked her the same question when she was lying in the gym at East high, having hit herself in the head with her own tennis racquet.

"Three. And I'm fine. I don't need a rescue..."  
Kelsi yelped as the 'rescue team' pulled her up onto her feet and brushed the snow off her back.

"Ok I think I'm sufficiently rescued." Kelsi giggled at the boys' enthusiasm as Troy and Ryan brushed the remains of the ice from her shoulders.

"Ooooh I don't know about that." Troy said in a mock serious tone. "I think a rescue team member should probably escort you round the premises. Rescue Team Member Evans. Care to oblige?"

"Team Member Evans ready for duty." Ryan said cheerfully, skating over beside her. Sharpay skidded past briefly and Kelsi was sure she heard her say,

"You guys are dorks..." in an undertone. Ryan evidently heard her because he looked over at her, his face positively scandalised and shouted,

"Well SOMEONE isn't going to be rescued when THEY fall!"

* * *

Kelsi laughed freely as they soared around the skating rink. Ryan had positioned himself behind her where he could skate and steer her by holding tightly onto her waist. It made the idea of ice-skating a lot more appealing than when she had first set foot on the rink. As they passed by each of their friends, it appeared to Kelsi that things seemed to be straightening out. Chad, having evidently explained the whole 'Sharpay situation', was skating alongside Taylor and Zeke, the three of them laughing at something. Sharpay was showing Gabriella and Troy some complicated footwork that they were trying to master and Martha, who had picked up the art of ice-skating a lot quicker than Kelsi, was happily holding hands with Jason as they moved round the rink smoothly. Things seemed almost back to normal.

Then it struck Kelsi that there wouldn't really be a 'normal' anymore. They were never going to stay the same as they were in high school. Things would inevitably change over the years, be it relationships or career choices or both. It had only been a matter of months since high school had ended and already their tight group seemed to be unraveling. Kelsi tried to shake the feeling and tell herself that just because they grew into different people, didn't mean they would have to grow apart. She had never known a group of friends as tight as them and that had to count for something right? Still... Troy and Gabriella looked happy and content now, but if even the golden couple were having problems... what chance did the rest of them have?

* * *

Later that evening, Kelsi sat contently in her room, her hands idly dancing over the keys of her keyboard. The sound seemed harsh and clinical compared to the high quality pianos she had gotten used to at Julliard, but it was nostalgic to her. In fact, she had written her best music in this room. Frankly, the music she was making for class wasn't quite reaching the standard she had hoped. Her knowledge of music had improved massively over the last few months, not to mention the countless new methods of composition she had picked up. However, despite the complexity of the pieces she had submitted so far for composition class, she was barely gaining a pass mark for them. After her second mediocre mark, Kelsi had approached her composition tutor, Professor Ann Tait.

_"Professor..."_  
_"Come in Miss Nielson."_  
_Kelsi entered the office timidly, softly closing the door behind her. Professor Tait was a tall, thin, stern looking woman. Although she had a youthful, creative and vintage style, her grey hair which was tightly held back in a bun and her narrow beady eyes gave her a severe look. Also the fact that she rarely smiled did her no favours. She was sitting straight backed at her desk, pouring over what appeared to be a student's score when Kelsi entered._

_"What can I do for you?" she asked curtly, looking up from the music and looking at Kelsi expectantly. Kelsi froze for a minute. She knew it was ridiculous to be afraid of a teacher, but the woman's tight lips and accusing stare would intimidate anyone!_

_"Sometime before Christmas Miss Neilson. I have things to do." the professor said dryly, giving Kelsi a bored sort of look._

_"I... I'd like some feedback." Kelsi stammered, hating how high-pitched and scared her voice sounded. _

_"On your latest submission?" Professor Tait asked, her eyes boring into Kelsi's._

_"Yes." Kelsi replied in almost a whisper. The teacher shrugged in response._

_"It was... average." she said with an air of indifference. Kelsi stared for a second before remembering Professor Tait's intolerance for waiting._  
_"But... I did everything you taught me. I have the highest theory grades in the year. It's the most difficult thing I've ever written." Kelsi stammered desperately, leaning forward on the desk in an attempt to appeal to her teacher. The professor looked at her steadily from behind her spectacles then sighed deeply. _

_"Miss Niel... Kelsi. Merit isn't simply based on complexity. I approved your scholarship application. I know what your capable of. The pieces you submitted, although they were well written, were beautiful in their simplicity."_

_"So I need to make my music... easier?" Kelsi asked, unsure of what Professor Tait was getting at. She received a stern look in response._

_"No." she said bluntly. "What your music is lacking is imagination. Character! Everything that made your compositions from high school come to life."_

Kelsi had tried. She honestly had. She had tried dozens of new methods in an attempt to ignite some new inspiration. Mostly she had sought out catalysts such as short stories and poems. She had even gone as far to write little stories, creating characters to write about. Frustratingly, she felt exactly like she had when she was writing 'Twinkle Towne' all those years ago. It had been a big undertaking and the music had taken about a year and a half to write. Kelsi remembered all too well the struggle it had been to get the songs to a high standard. Ont he other hand, 'Senior Year' had been easy. Almost too easy. She had written the songs in record time and she considered it to be some of her strongest work. She assumed this was down to her experience and improvement as a musician and songwriter and assumed she would continue to get better at college. For some strange reason she seemed to be going backwards these days. Despite her best efforts, her last submission had been handed back to her with the caption 'This is NOT the composer who was awarded a scholarship!'.

Of course her heart had sunk at the comment, but she had been hopeful that visiting her old keyboard during the holidays would help. She did feel a lot better, especially after having spent the whole evening with her closest friends. For the first time in ages she felt like she could just sit and lazily improvise. Melodies just seemed to appear before her here.

"We learned to fly, together side by side."

Kelsi smiled as she effortlessly sang the new melody. Where had that come from? Why couldn't she write like that all the time?

"Why can't the rest of my life, be like a..."

Kelsi paused and stared down at the keys. What next?

A small knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in." she called. She watched as her father sidled into the room shyly.

"Writing?" he asked, nodding at the keyboard.

"Yeah. Well... sort of." Kelsi sighed, looking down at the keys glumly. Her father glanced at his watch and bit his bottom lip in the same nervous way as Kelsi did.

"I was thinking... You're a college girl now. You can use the piano if you like. IF..." He added as he saw Kelsi's face instantly light up. "IF you let me hear what you've been working on."

Kelsi felt her face fall and looked at her father in disbelief.

"Oh dad everything I'm writing is terrible right now."

"Well i guess it's the keyboard for you then." her dad said with a subtle sigh as he turned to go.

"Fine!" Kelsi said hastily, jumping up from her piano stool. She couldn't pass up a chance to play the baby grand. Kelsi gingerly followed her dad into his office, almost tip-toeing, as if afraid she would break something by walking to heavily. The piano was close to sacred in her house. Her dad stopped beside the grand instrument and gestured down to the stool, giving her a kind smile. Kelsi took a seat gratefully and, as promised, began to play. She opted for the piece that had come to her tonight, rather than her shunned college submissions.

"That doesn't sound terrible." her dad murmured from his seat in the corner. Kelsi nodded sadly. Her father didn't say anything in reply but he didn't have to. He watched her intently, knowing she was going to tell him something as soon as she was ready.

"Dad... Do you ever feel like you just can't write? Like you have no inspiration?"

"I think any creative person gets that sometimes." her dad said neutrally, though he kept watching her closely. Kelsi nodded in agreement but wasn't satisfied. However, she couldn't think of anything more to ask on the subject either. She opted to play in silence, drawing comfort from the beautiful instrument and her father's quiet but calming presence.

"I'll say this." her dad said eventually. "Sometimes musicians learn so much that they forget what made them passionate in the first place. Write about what you know."

"Everyone says that." Kelsi reminded her dad with a small smile.

"It's an easy rule but it's often forgotten." her dad said with a nod as he got up from his chair. "Write about what you know." he added before leaving her alone with the piano.

Write about what you know.

Kelsi continued to play the new accompaniment she had come up with that evening as she turned the question over in her mind. All she knew was music. She wasn't adverse to writing about music, but there was only so far she could take that approach.

Write about what you know.

What did that even mean?! The more Kelsi repeated it to herself the less it seemed to make sense.

"High school musical, who says we have to let it go..." she sang softly.

Kelsi froze and recounted the words she just sang. Then it hit her. Write about what you know! The reason 'Senior Year' had been so much easier and more natural to write was because it was what she knew. It was her experience. The characters were already there, real and ready to be put into song. All her best songs were relatable to her! 'Twinkle Towne' had been such a slog because they were characters from nowhere. 'Senior Year' had been so personal to her and as a result it had poured straight out of her! Following this epiphany Kelsi put her hands to the keys.

"Looking forward from centre stage to graduation day, time to get the future started!"


	13. Chapter 12

**First of all, big thank you to qsc, musicrules1923, lovemesomeglee and my lovely guest for reviewing! Reviews really do spur you on, it's GREAT! I hope this party of the story isn't going too slow... i promise I'm going somewhere with this! Thank you again you lovely people for reading! Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

"BZZZZZZZZZ"

Kelsi rolled over in bed, her face automatically screwing up at the obnoxiously loud noises issuing from her cell phone. She lifted herself up on her elbows and squinted at the caller ID. Of course. Who else would call her at... 4am!

"I'm assuming there's some kind of emergency." Kelsi said groggily as she answered the call.

"Yup. An emergency called CHRISTMAAAAAS!" Ryan sang down the phone, his voice so loud and cheery that Kelsi had to momentarily hold the phone away from her ear.

"Oh yeah. Merry Christmas. Ok, niiiight..."

"Aw I guess you don't want your present then& ."

Kelsi paused at this comment. She had a feeling she knew what was going on and gingerly crept out of bed and over to her window. Sure enough, there was a blue Vespa parked outside her door and a grinning Ryan Evans standing in her front yard, waving his arms around. Despite her exhaustion, Kelsi had to laugh.

"You're ridiculous!" she giggled softly, opening the window so he could hear her.

"Can I come in?" he asked in a hushed voice. "I could climb the tree."

Kelsi forgot the need to be quiet for a second and let out a loud laugh before stifling it in a hurry.

"What?"

"No offence Ryan but I really can't imagine you climbing a tree." Kelsi smirked, taking in Ryan's pristine designer jeans and his very white shirt.

"Is that a reference to my sheltered childhood?" Ryan asked indignantly, arching an eyebrow. He didn't wait for a reply and strode determinedly over to the foot of the tree. Having climbed it on numerous occasions, Kelsi knew all too well that it was a lot harder to climb up than it was the climb down. Also, her childhood had been climbing all the trees in the field at the back of her house with her older brother. Ryan's childhood had been putting on shows with Sharpay in their mansion. However, she decided not to mention this for now. This had the potential to create a very amusing Christmas morning.

Ryan spent some time pacing around the foot of the tree with a very serious face, as if analysing the situation. He put both palms on the trunk and gave it a little shake. When nothing happened he nodded as if this had somehow told him something very important.

"I could just come down." Kelsi offered, in what she hoped was a helpful, and not at all patronising, tone. Ryan just smirked up at her confidently.

"Kelsi, I've got this." he said firmly before placing his foot on a protruding knob on the tree and pulling himself up. He was perhaps a foot from the ground but to look at him you'd think he'd climbed Everest. He looked positively smug. Even Kelsi had to admit she was impressed. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't expected him to get even this far... However, it was clear that Ryan was unsure of what to do next. Soon enough his proud grin began to falter and his eyes began to dart around uncertainly.

"The branch above your head." Kelsi suggested, pointing it out for him. Her method was usually to take hold of this particular branch with two hands and swing her self up to sit on it. Then she could easily tip toe towards her window. Ryan nodded but he didn't look entirely convinced. He carefully took one of his hands off the trunk and placed it onto the branch above him.

"And the other one." Kelsi coaxed him teasingly.

"Don't rush me!" Ryan replied defensively, his eyes flitting between the trunk of the tree and the branch he needed to be holding onto. Eventually he managed to grasp the branch with two hands though he was holding on so tight that his knuckles were white.

"So... so what now?" Ryan asked nervously, looking up at Kelsi from his undignified position.

"Well this is the hard bit." Kelsi explained, leaning out of her window so she could instruct him better.

"THIS is the hard bit?" Ryan asked disbelievingly. Kelsi couldn't hold it on any longer and let herself giggle aloud.

"You've honestly never climbed a tree?" she checked, covering her mouth to stifle the laughing that was sure to wake up the rest of the house if she wasn't careful.

"Does it look like I have?" Ryan asked hotly, still gripping the tree as if for dear life.

"You need to relax. It's not even that high..."

"Just tell me how to climb the damn tree."

* * *

After another twenty minutes, a lot of scrabbling and what Ryan called a 'scare' (which in Ryan's books meant his hat almost falling off his head mid climb) Kelsi finally managed to haul her boyfriend through her window and into her small bedroom.

"That was quite a lot of exercise for 4am." Ryan gasped, leaning forward onto his legs for support.

"That was quite a lot of hilarious for 4am." Kelsi quipped smirking at his appearance. His hat, which had miraculously stayed on, was crooked, he was still panting heavily and he was covered in dirt from head to toe.

"Well I heroically braved that tree to give you your Christmas present but I guess you don't want it..."

Kelsi quickly silenced him with a kiss and smiled as she felt him give in and melt his lips against hers.

"Ok it was pretty romantic." Kelsi agreed as they pulled apart, putting her arms around his waist comfortably.

Ryan just wouldn't be Ryan without the showy romantic gestures. He put one hand comfortingly on her back and stroked her hair with the other and she held him there for a few moments, letting herself breathe in his scent and take comfort in the familiarity for a while. They hadn't seen each other in person for two days. It seemed like a long time when they'd been used to seeing each other every day and being able to sleep in the same bed most nights. She still couldn't quite believe how everything had all worked out. Six months ago they had stood outside this very house on her porch, telling each other that this would be the last time they kissed as they would be going their separate ways after summer. Kelsi never could have predicted that she would be spending her next Christmas morning tenderly holding Ryan in her bedroom.

"I missed you." Ryan murmured in her ear and Kelsi pulled him tighter.

"I missed you too. It's so silly though. It's only been two days." she giggled.

"Still..." Ryan pulled away from her to look at her sincerely. "I'll be happy to have you all to myself again when we get back. Now!" he added, with a grin. "Close your eyes."

Kelsi reluctantly stepped out of his embrace but obliged, letting her eyes flutter closed.

"No peaking. Hands out."

She placed her palms out in front of her and waited expectantly but nothing happened.

"Ryan what..."

She let out a little gasp as she felt something cold make contact around her throat. Her eyes flew open in time to see Ryan fastening a necklace around her neck. When she heard the clasp click into place she grinned and dashed towards her mirror to see. It was a simple silver pendant on a chain. A treble clef. A treble clef that looked very familiar. Kelsi racked her brain to remember where she had seen it, then remembered that the two of them had spotted it in the window of an antique store in New York. Kelsi tried desperately to ignore how much it must have cost (she had a feeling Vance and Derby had helped out with this one) and focused on how thoughtful a gift it was.

"I thought I said to keep your eyes closed." Ryan commented, catching Kelsi's eye in the mirror, an amused grin on his face.

"I thought you said 'hands out'" Kelsi retorted admiring the small pendant between her fingers. "Oh Ryan it's beautiful. Thank you!"

"I wanted to get you something... special." Ryan said softly, smiling at the gift on her throat admirably.

"Me too." Kelsi said excitedly, running over to her bedside table where a small simply wrapped gift lay. There was no way her gift to Ryan had cost even half of what he had given to her, but she knew he wouldn't care. He hadn't bought her the necklace because of the price, but because he knew she would love it and Kelsi decided a while ago that she could forgive Ryan's lavish tastes if they were in service of something genuinely thoughtful and kind.  
She handed the gift over to Ryan and watched with anticipation as he opened it. She had known for a while what she wanted to get him but had waited until they had returned to Alburqurque to buy it. The reason being, so Sharpay could help pick out the exact right design for her budget. When Ryan's eyes lit up as he pulled off the paper and looked inside the box, Kelsi was glad she had.

"A watch!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulling it out and holding it up to the light to look at it.

"You're always saying how you lose track of time when you're working or choreographing." Kelsi explained, smiling fondly at the giddy look of excitement on Ryan's face.

"It's perfect!" he grinned, putting it on right away and holding his arm out to admire it fully. It was a simple design, with just a black leather strap and white face but the roman numerals and old fashioned buckle gave it a vintage feel that Kelsi and Sharpay had decided would be well suited to Ryan.

Next thing Kelsi knew, he was kissing her full on the mouth and throwing her towards the floor in a dramatic dip that made her giggle behind his kiss. However, as he yanked her back to her feet and placed his hand possessively on the back of her head, the laugh soon turned to a small moan. Maybe it was the romantic gesture. Maybe it was the secrecy. Or maybe it was the fact that they hadn't really been alone in days. Whatever the reason, Kelsi was sure she had never wanted anything so badly as she wanted Ryan then. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, she was pulling him backwards towards her bed. It was as if someone else was controlling her body but the last thing she wanted to do was resist it. Suddenly the back of her heel collided with something hard and Kelsi felt herself falling backwards. She had clearly misjudged how close the bed was and soon fell back onto the mattress, pulling down Ryan with her. Ryan let out a little yelp of surprise as he braced his arms so he wouldn't squash his girlfriend. Kelsi quickly muffled his cry with her hand giggling quietly.

_"My parents."_ she mouthed.

_"If you weren't so clumsy…"_ he mouthed back, grinning wickedly. The last thing on earth that Kelsi could resist was that smile and she quickly claimed his lips again, eagerly pulling his body closer to his and effortlessly sliding her hands under his shirt. It was so strange how this situation would have terrified her a few months ago and now it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

To her disappointment, Ryan broke the kiss, whispering 'Wait." softly in her ear. He gingerly took her face in his hands and looked at her steadily, his face beaming.

"What?" Kelsi whispered, feeling herself automatically smile back. Ryan grinned and let his forehead rest against her own.

"Just wondering how I got so lucky." 

* * *

Ryan awoke as usual to the obnoxiously shrill tones of the alarm clock on his cell phone bt he kept his eyes screwed shut. Thanks to the hideously early dance classes he was subjected to several times a week, Julliard had transformed him into a 'morning person'. Finding that he now craved having some time to himself in the morning, he had continued the ritual through the holidays, rising at 6am daily. This morning was different. The minute his alarm cut through his slumber Ryan groaned and automatically recoiled. He proceeded to flail his hand around, searching for the offending item. It usually rested on his bedside table to his left, and yet Ryan's hand soon fell upon something soft. Something very un-bedside-table-like. Something that was moving&

"Ryan..." said a sleepy voice.

His eyes flew open and he was greeted with the image of his girlfriend snuggling closer to him, her eyes still closed in blissful ignorance. Normally he would have looked upon her sleeping form and sighed contently, perhaps pulling her closer to him and kissing her shoulder before he drifted off again. Today he sat up with a start and began scrambling around, looking for his cell phone which was still ringing. He looked around in panic at his surroundings, taking in the keyboard against the opposite wall, the collection of soft toys sitting in the corner and the fact that he was lying next to Kelsi in her bed wearing the clothes he'd been in the night before.

Just as his breathing became laboured he spotted his cell phone lying on the floor. He leaned over and snatched it up, answering it without even checking who was calling.

"Hello." he answered, his voice coming out as a croak.

"Where are you?! It's Christmas!"

"Sorry Shar." Ryan said quickly, instantly recognising his sister's voice. "I'm at Kelsi's. I... we fell asleep..."  
"Whatever!" his sister hissed before he could finish. "Just get your butt over here. I can only stall mom and dad for so long! Merry Christmas blah blah..."

The line went dead and Ryan suddenly felt a rustle of movement next to him. He looked round to find what had to be the most adorable sight ever. He even managed an amused smile, despite the circumstances. Kelsi sat up, her eyes only half open and bewildered, her hair a mass of curls and tangles. She looked at him in confusion for a few seconds before her eyes turned suddenly wide. She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh... Oh shit!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice. A short peal of laughter left Ryan before he could help himself. Hearing Kelsi curse was like hearing it from a child. It sounded so un-natural... and incredibly cute. Before he could tell her this, there was a knock on the door. Kelsi's face paled and Ryan felt himself freeze in horror. This surely wasn't happening?

"C'moooon Kelsi! You're usually up at the crack of dawn on Christmas!"

Kelsi suddenly gripped his arm, her nails digging painfully into his skin. She looked at him with a look of horror that he was sure mirrored his own expression.

_"My brother!"_ She mouthed, pointing obviously at the door.

_"I know!"_ Ryan mouthed back in dismay.

"Just... Just a minute!" Kelsi squeaked, throwing back the covers and signalling to Ryan to follow her to the window.

"Hurry up already!" Thomas whined from outside the door. "I've been waiting for hours!"

"Yes I know." Kelsi said hurriedly as she forced the window open for Ryan. He took one look outside and gulped. In the light of day the fall from Kelsi's window looked a lot further.

_"Go!"_ she mouthed at him desperately, but his muscles didn't want to do it. He stealthily put one foot on the window sill, holding on desperately to the wall and trying not to think about how his career as a dancer could be over if he lost his footing.

"Right I'm coming in!" Thomas shouted exasperatedly. "In five& "

Before Ryan could contemplate his potential injury any further, he was grabbed round the middle and yanked inside. Kelsi dragged him by the hand and pulled him over to her wardrobe, opening the doors and frantically signalling for him to get inside.

"Three... two... "  
Ryan climbed inside and encased himself in the hanging clothes, actually quite grateful that he hadn't been required to climb down the tree. Having said that& the idea of Kelsi's intimidating older brother finding him stashed away in her wardrobe at a questionable time in the morning was a whole different kind of fear. He got one last fleeting glimpse of Kelsi's panicked expression as she pushed a finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet, before she slammed the wardrobe doors shut and plunging him into darkness.

"One!"

Ryan heard Kelsi's bedroom door swing open and became still as a statue, hardly even daring to breathe.

"Hey!" he heard Kelsi say in a nervous cheery sort of way.

"What took you so long. You're not even dressed!" Thomas replied. Ryan could hear his footsteps as he entered the room and made a silent prayer that Kelsi's brother wouldn't randomly want to look in her wardrobe.

"Yeah... I... Well... " Kelsi stammered in reply. "I just... couldn't decide what to wear."

Ryan's heart sank. He had forgotten. Kelsi was a terrible liar.

"It's Christmas morning!" Thomas said exasperatedly, his footsteps sounding dangerously near now.

"Just put on your dressing gown. Here..."

The doors of his hiding place were suddenly forced open and Ryan had a second to squint at Thomas' bemused expression before he jumped back and screamed in alarm. Taken aback Ryan, for some reason, screamed too and shielded his face with his arms in panic.

"Everybody calm down!" Kelsi yelled over the commotion, successfully silencing both boys. Ryan tentatively brought his arms down and looked at Thomas. The other boy was panting heavily and holding his heart from the fright he had just been given. After a few seconds he dragged his eyes from Ryan and looked at his sister accusingly.

"What the hell?"

"He surprised me last night and he fell asleep! No big deal." Kelsi rambled, biting her lip nervously.

"No big... Mom and Dad are going to freak." Thomas hissed in reply.

"They won't freak if they don't find out." Kelsi suggested, looking at her brother sweetly. Thomas considered her for a few seconds before rolling his eyes in defeat.

"Fine. But only because you've covered for me so many times. How are we getting him out?"

"I could go down the tree." Ryan offered helpfully from inside the closet.

Thomas and Kelsi gave him matching looks of scepticism.

"No offence man... But by the looks of you, you didn't do a great job getting _up_ the tree." Thomas said, running his eyes over Ryan's torn and dirt stained clothes.

"He's got a point." Kelsi said, shrugging apologetically.

"Ok." Ryan sighed, untangling himself from Kelsi's clothes and stepping out of the closet. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan…" said Thomas in dangerously low voice as he took a few careful steps towards Ryan. "Is that you don't crawl inside my little sister's window at stupid-o'clock in the morning!"

"I'm eighteen Tom, just leave it." Kelsi hissed, pulling him back from Ryan. "And if you don't want mom and dad to find our about some of YOUR escapades which, believe me Ryan are a lot worse…" she added, rolling her eyes in Ryan's direction. "Then you'll help us." 

* * *

Kelsi wasn't normally the confrontational type, but proving a point to her annoying older brother tended to be the exception. She had managed to convince him to aid her in sneaking Ryan down the stairs and out the back door. However, this involved him passing their parents undetected and they didn't seem to want to stay in one place. As the three of them listened from the landing, each parent seemed to be inconveniently flitting from room to room, making sure everything was in place for the day ahead.

"Pete! Can you help me in here!" Kelsi heard her mother call from their front room.

"Is it more important than the turkey?"

"Yes!"

Ryan, Kelsi and Thomas watched with bated breath as Peter Nielson begrudgingly crossed the hall and entered the front room. Now was the time to seize their chance. The three of them quickly scrambled down the stairs, Kelsi and Thomas leading the way in case they suddenly needed to shield Ryan from view.

"Jennifer we talked about this! The kids have both moved out. They don't need stockings this year! I'm getting back to the turkey."  
The group instantly turned on their heels and scampered back up the stairs. Kelsi chanced a look behind her and noted that they had been a hair's breadth away from being detected by her father.

"That's not what I asked you!" her mom called shrilly from the other room. Her father sighed and stopped right at the foot of the stairs, causing herself, Ryan and Thomas to quickly duck out of sight.

"Well if you're doing stockings for Kelsi and Tom either way then… Yeah I guess give one to Ryan too."

Kelsi felt an unexpected flutter in her stomach at that comment. She didn't know her parents had even planned to give Ryan a present, let alone a stocking, which was a family tradition. She found his hand and squeezed it affectionately.

"Welcome to the world of useless novelty gifts." Thomas whispered dryly. Ryan laughed softly in reply, but when Kelsi met his eyes he was beaming.

After a further fifteen minutes and two more failed attempts to get down the stairs, Kelsi decided it was time for a new plan of action. A diversion was needed and they agreed that Thomas was the one to do it. The front door made a lot of noise when it opened and closed so the back door still seemed the best option. The plan was to get both parents as far from the back door as possible, preferably onto the front yard, so that Kelsi could bundle Ryan out the back while they were distracted.

"Ready?" Kelsi asked her brother as he steeled himself to go downstairs.

"You owe me big time." he said, looking at her seriously.

"Depends how well it goes." Kelsi smirked. Despite how horribly mortifying it would be if her parents found out Ryan had stayed over without permission, there was something sort of fun and thrilling about sneaking around. Ryan nudged her and gave her a disapproving look.

"You're enjoying this way too much." he murmured, his eyes nervously watching Thomas as he strolled down to the hallway. "I don't think I've ever been this terrified."

"Hey at least we're spending time together right." Kelsi joked, giving him a soft kiss. When she pulled away, the anxiety on Ryan's face was replaced with a warm smile.

"Did I tell you Merry Christmas yet?" he asked softly.

"Nope." Kelsi whispered back, putting her head on his shoulder. "Which is strange because we've already spent five hours of Christmas day together."

"Merry Christmas Kelsi." he grinned, kissing her forehead.

"Merry Christmas Ryan…"

"Mom! Dad! Come here quickly!"

Ryan and Kelsi quickly scrambled to their feet. The diversion was beginning.

"Where have you two been?!" Kelsi heard her mom called as she strode downy he hall towards the front of the house. "You're usually up well before us…"

"It doesn't matter. Just get there. You too Dad!"

"Is THIS more important than the turkey?" Peter Nielson grumbled, following his wife towards Thomas' voice.

"Yeah guys! It's snowing!"

Kelsi grinned widely at her brother's cunning. Their parents had a small obsession with haven a 'White Christmas'. According to them, it had snowed on the first Christmas they had spent as a married couple, but it had never happened since. Every year it was debated up to two weeks before if it was due to snow or not and on the day itself, Kelsi and Thomas were subjected to the story of their parents' first Christmas they'd heard a million times. The story being that Kelsi's parents had tried so long for a baby that they began to think they were unable to conceive. Then, on Christmas Day, her mother had discovered she was pregnant with Thomas. The second 'Christmas Miracle' that day was that it had snowed. Her parents still liked to call Thomas their 'Christmas Miracle' when they were feeling sappy, much to Thomas' disdain. Therefore, it was no surprise to her when her parents suddenly bolted towards the front door as fast as their legs could carry them.

"What?!"

"Are you sure Thomas?!"

"Hold the door!"

When her mother and father were safely past the stairs and at the front door, Kelsi ran down the stairs, dragging Ryan behind her.

"It… it doesn't look like it's snowing…"

"It is mom, look closer. It's just because it's bright out here…"

Kelsi said a silent prayer of thanks for her brother's superior lying skills and tip-toed Ryan down the hallway as quick as she dared. She had nearly made it to the kitchen when…

"WHY is there a VESPA in our front yard?!"

Kelsi froze, still holding Ryan's hand, not even daring to look behind her. She looked at Ryan and found his eyes seemed to say the same thing that was in her head.

Oh yeah. The vespa.

Knowing that she needed to face the music, Kelsi swiveled round to look behind her. She found Thomas' face first . He looked genuinely sorry. Her father on the other hand… Her father had never been one to shout or lose his temper. His anger was normally expressed in an eerie quiet sort of way. Right now his eyes were fixed on her and even though he appeared relaxed and calm, Kelsi knew he was angry. Her mother, strangely, let out a small giggle, causing her husband to look at her and raise an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry Peter but look at them!" she laughed. "They look adorable! And Ryan is..."

"I know." her dad cut in quietly. "I'm sure there's some sort of explanation?" he asked, looking at Kelsi sternly. She braced herself before looking her father in the eyes. He was such a kind and humble man and when he gave her that look of disappointment she felt like the worst person in the world. It was probably why these sort of confrontations were usually approached by him and not her mother.

"Ryan came over at… he came over early this morning to give me my Christmas present." Kelsi explained timidly. "He was going to go home but we were talking and we fell asleep…"

"How early?" her dad asked. She winced at this. Her dad could always see right through her.

"4am…"

"I would say that's night, rather than morning." he concluded with a sigh. Kelsi nodded obediently. How could she have forgotten about that stupid vespa...

"It's my fault." Ryan murmured, stepping out from behind Kelsi. "I… Well I was trying to be romantic. Sir."

Kelsi cringed. Her mom let out a long 'Aaaaaw', Thomas rolled his eyes and a ghost of a smile appeared in the corner of her father's mouth.

"Kelsi we've always trusted you…"

Her father stopped abruptly has Thomas let out a sceptical snort. It only took a stern glare from his dad for her brother to disappear back up the stairs. He returned his gaze to Kelsi and continued.

"We've always trusted you. A lot more than your… delightful brother anyway." he said glancing to where Thomas had made his exit.

"Yeah you've been unnervingly easy to handle." her mother added, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder and projecting the image of a united front.

"Ryan's not the problem. You're… Well you're a grown up." her dad continued, now looking a little nervous. "Just don't lie to us honey."

Kelsi nodded slowly, feeling an odd mixture of humiliation, gratitude and guilt. She was somewhere between wanting to hug her parents and wanting to bury herself in a hole and never come out.

"I'd better get back." Ryan said awkwardly from behind her. "My family will be… Oh! Merry Christmas!" he announced cheerily. To Kelsi's relief, his comment broke the tension, causing everyone to laugh and exchange Christmas greetings.

Kelsi followed Ryan to the front door, hoping to apologise to Ryan before he left for how awkward everything had been and of course, get a kiss goodbye. Her heart sank as she found her Dad blocking her path.

"Why don't you help your mom in the kitchen." he suggested, his eyes twinkling knowingly. "I'll get Ryan to the door."

The last thing she saw was the undeniable look of fear in Ryan's eyes as her Dad put a hand on his shoulder and started to walk them away from her. 

* * *

Considering the circumstances, Ryan felt oddly cheery as he rode his Vespa home from The Nielsons. Sure he was covered in dirt from head to toe, Kelsi's protective older brother hand found him in her wardrobe and her parents had confronted him about staying the night in their daughter's bedroom. BUT, it had given him the chance to bond with Kelsi's father a little...

_"I really am sorry Mr Nielson."_

_"It's alright." Kelsi's Dad smiled as they stepped out onto the porch. Ryan noticed that the stern look had vanished from his blue eyes. They looked more like Kelsi's now. Kind, humble and open._

_"You're a good kid Ryan." he said, meeting Ryan's eyes sincerely. Ryan noted that Kelsi had gained most of her mannerisms from her father. His hands, which bore identical callouses to Kelsi's from playing the piano, were fidgeting. Ryan recognised this instantly as something Kelsi did when faced with an uncomfortable situation. Her father was obviously feeling a bit awkward speaking with him, and so Ryan waited patiently. _

_"We're really happy she's got someone like you in New York. It was a big change for her." Mr Nielson continued, biting his lip. "We can't look out for her there, but we can when she's with us."_

_Ryan held the other man's gaze for a few seconds then understood._

_"So… I guess the idea of someone sneaking into her room at 4am is a bit… Weird?"_

_"A little." Peter Nielson agreed with a nervous laugh. "We don't mind if you stay over Ryan but just let us know. And if you feel like being 'romantic' at God knows what hour then maybe give us a heads up? Then we can leave you a key and you don't need to ruin a pair of white pants."_

_Ryan blushed as he felt Kelsi's Dad scrutinise the terrible state of his clothes from climbing the tree. _

_"Am I still allowed to come over and say Hi later?" Ryan checked. _

_"I should think so." said the older man, giving him a warm smile. "We couldn't possibly deprive my wife of presenting you with a Christmas stocking."_

Ryan had concluded that, as horribly awkward and humiliating as the situation had been, it could have gone a lot worse. He had about five missed calls from Sharpay but he had been so terrified trying to escape from Kelsi's house that the wrath he was bound to receive from his sister for being late for Christmas didn't seem scary at all.

Ryan was sure that any Christmas morning drama was behind him, until he pulled up next to his house. His heart sank at the sight before him. He'd recognise that car anywhere. Ryan put his Vespa in the garage then walked out half-heartedly to the car across the road. The driver saw him approach and rolled down the window.

"Hey Ryan. Merry Christmas."

"Zeke." Ryan said sympathetically. "What are you doing here?"

Truthfully he was actually a little surprised. When he had seen Zeke at Sharpay's reunion party he had seemed o.k. More than o.k. He had been the life of the party. But people that were doing 'o.k' didn't park outside their ex-girlfriend's house on Christmas morning.

"Can't a guy just sit in his car in a nice part of town on Christmas morning?" Zeke joked, his lips pulling back into a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Exactly, it's Christmas. Shouldn't you be with your family." Ryan said pointedly.

"Uuuh shouldn't you? What's with the early morning ride?"

"Long story." Ryan sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Did you go on a jungle safari or something?" Zeke quipped, raising his eyebrows at Ryan's dirty and torn attire.

"Zeke c'mon. I can't let you just… sit out here." Ryan said incredulously. "It's… strange."

"I'm not spying." Zeke protested. He reached across the passenger seat and pulled out a thin square package, neatly wrapped in pink paper. "I got this forher months ago. Before… You know." he mumbled. "I just couldn't figure out if I should give it to her."

Ryan considered Zeke's defeated expression. There had never been anyone like Zeke for Sharpay. She had briefly dated people in high school, but they had almost served as toys to amuse her. No one genuinely gave her joy or brought out the good side of her like Zeke did. When they had been together he had seemed to touch a part of her heart and mind that Ryan couldn't even access. Part of him had a feeling that Sharpay would go looking for Zeke again. Or that he would find her. Either way, he couldn't bring himself to believe that this would be the end for them. Having said that, the image of Zeke offering Sharpay's Christmas present after everything she had done to him was heart-breaking. Wasted.

"Don't give it to her." Ryan blurted out before he could change his mind.

"Don't?" Zeke checked, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure him out. Ryan's mind was screaming at him that this genuine, kind man in front of him was the one person other than himself that seemed to bring out Sharpay's true self and that telling him to keep his distance was stupidity. Nonetheless, he soldiered on.

"I know you've heard this a million times, but now you're hearing it from her twin. She doesn't deserve you." Ryan said firmly, deciding that he was doing the right thing. "Meaning you deserve better. And maybe she'll be better one day. Right now? Everything's changing and… I think she's trying to figure out who she is still."

Ryan met Zeke's gaze anxiously, hoping he hadn't hurt his feelings or crushed him altogether. To his surprise, the tall boy just gave him a melancholy smile.

"I guess we're all trying to figure out who we are." Zeke said thoughtfully. "I know it's great that we threw off our labels in high school, but it's a bit disconcerting not having that sense of identity."

Ryan stared at Zeke, taken aback by this profound statement. They boy opposite him chuckled at his expression.

"My room mate is majoring in psychology. I've got plenty more statements like that one." he smirked.

"I guess I know what you mean." Ryan sighed, suddenly finding that description quite apt. "At high school I was always the drama kid. At Julliard…"

"Everyone's the drama kid." Zeke agreed with a grimace. "College is going to be tricky…"

"And it's still only freshman year." Ryan joked, lightening the mood. Zeke nodded cheerfully but there was still something a bit sad about his smile.

"Why don't you take it?" Zeke suggested, holding out the gift. "I don't want to throw it out but.. I don't want to see it in my room everyday either."

"Sure." Ryan said, taking the gift carefully through the car window. Zeke revved the engine, apparently about to leave and get home to his family, when he turned to Ryan one last time.

"You know, I'm glad Kelsi didn't listen to me." Zeke grinned with a shake of his head. "You're a decent guy Ryan."

"What?" Ryan asked curiously. Zeke just shrugged and let out a low exhale, as if brushing the comment off.

"Ugh it was before you two were a thing. I'd had some trouble with your sister and I met Kelsi coming out of school. I told her 'Honestly Kelsi. Going after an Evans. Don't do it. Way too much hassle.'" he sniggered.

"Funny huh! Ah well, thanks for the talk Ryan. Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah. Merry Christmas." Ryan replied, somewhat flatly as Zeke sped off down the street. Something his tall friend had said had rung true somewhere, and he wasn't sure he liked it. 


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry sorry sorry sorry! You've had a bit of a wait :( I've had a crazy few weeks but here I am! This one's a wee bit short, but I'm going to add two chapters to 'The Arguments' to make up for it. Please check that story out if you haven't already. If you're a Ryan and Kelsi fan then it will hopefully be right up your street!**

**Apologies for my absence, and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Sis… are you sure this isn't a little excessive."

"If by excessive you mean FABULOUS then yes. It is."

Kelsi giggled as she watched Ryan arch an eyebrow at his sister who was grinning innocently back at him.

"Those words do seem to mean the same thing to you Shar." he remarked, nodding out at the spectacle before them.

It was New Year's Eve at the Evans household and Sharpay had gone all out to make the event as fabulous/excessive as possible. Kelsi actually commended herself on how she had managed to pretend how normal she had found everything up to this point. She had nodded and agreed politely when Ryan's mom had gushed over the fairy lights that covered the whole front lawn and continued to snake their way through the whole house. She had walked coolly past the champagne fountain without staring and had even managed not to gape at the full swing band they had set up in the hall. However, stepping out into the back garden to find a stretch of fireworks ready to go off had been too much for herself and Ryan to fashionably brush off. They weren't the only ones. As everyone else filtered through the french doors and into the cool December air there were soon excited mutters and gasps from all sides.

"See." Sharpay said smugly as they heard Martha squeal with delight and clutch Jason's hand excitedly. "Everyone loves it."

"Do I want to know how much this…"

Sharpay flounced off before Ryan got the chance to finish his question but he simply rolled his eyes and pulled Kelsi a little closer, smiling down at her. She snuggled into him gratefully, letting her head lean against his chest.

"Cold?" Ryan murmured, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her arm.

"After experiencing New York in December? I could be in the Sahara." Kelsi joked. She felt Ryan snigger softly and would another arm comfortably round his waist. "No… i just wanted to be close to you."

"I'm glad." Ryan replied softly in her ear.

Soon a team directed by The Evans' butler, James, made their way smartly onto the lawn, preparing the fireworks. An excited chatter began to buzz among the crowd but Ryan and Kelsi stayed comfortably where they were, holding each other tight and staring out across the grounds. All their friends were present, but no one disturbed them. It had reached that sacred part of New Year's Eve where midnight approached. It was that time when everyone was conscious of the fact that they wanted to start the New Year the way they intended to continue. It was that moment of celebration that could only be accessed once a year and couldn't be thrown away rashly. Sure enough some of the other couples began to pair off and draw closer to one another. Sharpay was standing between her parents, clasping their hands and grinning proudly across the crowd. Taylor and Chad, their differences somewhat forgotten for the moment, stood either side of Troy and Gabriella, a determined foursome. Even Zeke had found a place with Jason and Martha, who stood either side of him in a subtle show of support.

"So… how are you feeling about the year ahead."

Kelsi looked up and met Ryan looking back at her. It was the look that she loved most. The one that made her feel like she was the most precious thing on the earth. Like she was performing some sort of magic by just standing there. It was a look of love. It was a look she couldn't lie to.

"Worried." she admitted with a sigh. The rapture in Ryan's gaze faltered and a crease of worry appeared on his brow.

"Worried? Why?" he asked softly.

"Just… everything with Troy and Gabriella. Taylor and Chad. Sharpay and Zeke… It's like a reminder that a lot of things aren't guaranteed."

"Are you worried about… us?" Ryan asked, his eyes widening and a note of panic creeping into his voice.

"No! No, not at all." Kelsi corrected herself hurriedly. "We're great. Perfect actually…"

"Then what is it?" Ryan pressed, looking down at her seriously.

"When I finished high school I thought… Finally, I know who I am." Kelsi said slowly, uncertain as to how well she was explaining things.

"Then I four months after I left my friends, I see them again and I see that actually a lot more change is coming. I'm not even done with my education! Maybe the biggest change of my life won't happen until I'm… forty-two or something! I don't know who I'm going to become…"

"Slow down." Ryan said gently, giving her an affectionate squeeze that effectively halted Kelsi's rant. She paused, trying to regroup her thoughts in her mind.

"I guess I'm just glad I have you." she said gratefully, pulling Ryan's arms further around her body. "It's good to know that even if everything else around us is changing, everything between us can stay the same."

She couldn't see Ryan's face but she instantly felt his body stiffen subtly. Curious to see his face she wriggled in his arms until she could look up at his expression. The frown had deepened and he was cheing his lip, as if thinking very hard on something.

"I can't promise that Kels." he said simply, meeting her gaze with an honest expression. Before she could prevent it, Kelsi felt her face fall drastically. Ryan caught the change and gave her a kind smile.

"Not the reply you were expecting?"

_"Of course nothing will ever change between us. I will always love you and I'll never let you go." _was more the answer she had been looking for…

"Not exactly." Kelsi admitted. She tried to keep her face impartial, knowing that Ryan wasn't trying to hurt her, and in the meantime, desperately tried to understand what he had meant. There had been so much turbulence already in the lead up to their relationship and she had sort of assumed that she was enjoying her happy ending. Not boarding another rollercoaster... But since she had left high school, everything seemed to be a lot more complex than 'happily ever after'.

"Kelsi…" Ryan turned her round to face him, placed his hands on her waist and locked his eyes with hers. "I love you so much and I can't ever imagine leaving you." he said, his words echoing with perfect sincerity.

"But…"

"But it's like you said. People change. I honestly can't imagine not being with you but it wouldn't be right for me to swear that we'll always be together. I just don't know that. Nobody knows what life's going to throw at us." he continued.

"That makes me sort of… worried." Kelsi said, automatically clinging to Ryan, as if he was about to change into a whole other person on the spot and leave her.

"Don't be." Ryan said with a small chuckle. "It's like you said. We're going to go through countless changes in our lives and we need to accept that. But I don't think we should let that thought determine how we enjoy our lives in the present."

"You're right." Kelsi smiled, finally seeing the message. "If there's one thing high school taught us it's to spend less time worrying about the future and more time enjoying right now."

"Right." Ryan replied pulling her nearer to him. "And I can promise one thing. I'll always be honest with you. Another thing I've learned from high school is that if people are unhappy, they're best to let the other person know instead of it building up."

"Agreed." Kelsi sighed, glancing worriedly at Troy and Gabriella who were in the middle of some sort of game where they tried to slap one-another's hands. It seemed a bit childish but as usual the golden couple didn't seem to care what anyone else thought of them. The pair seemed thoroughly back to normal… for the moment.

"You think they'll be ok?" she whispered, looking to Ryan for confirmation.

"Maybe. Maybe not. College is a long time." he said bluntly.

"That's what makes me scared. I mean, it's Troy and Gabriella. If they can't stay together then…"

"Comparing ourselves to other couples is absolutely no use to us." Ryan said, rolling his eyes playfully. "Neither is worrying. Remember, you need to start the New Year the way you mean to continue…"

"10…"

"Y'know my sister's been planning this since April…" Ryan said thoughtfully, ignoring the loud countdown to the New Year that had begun around them.

"9…"

"At the time I thought… Kelsi will have been in new York for four months…"

"8…"

"She'll probably have some rockstar boyfriend there…"

"7…"

"Lead guitarist type. With a sexy British accent."

"6…"

"Probably called… Edward or something…"

"Why am I suddenly dating a character from 'Twilight?'" Kelsi asked, snorting with laughter.

"5…"

"And I'd have to pretend to be all happy for you and stuff." Ryan continued.

"4…"

"But you're here." he said, beaming down at her.

"3…"

"With me."

"2…"

"I love…"

Kelsi silenced him by jumping up onto her tip-toes to give Ryan a long, lingering kiss. As he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, Kelsi heard the fireworks bang and crackle around them, signalling the New Year but let the noise ring out, only caring about one thing. The man in front of her. They pulled apart, smiled at each other and looked up at the lit up sky in wonder. As Kelsi stole a glance and saw the vibrant colours and patterns of the fireworks reflected in Ryan's eyes, she didn't think about the future. Her only thought was how wonderful right now was. 


End file.
